A leader of a 5,000-strong migrant caravan heading towards the US border has claimed that Latin American countries are “conspiring” against the Biden administration and creating artificial problems to get money out of Washington DC.
Irineo Mujica, a U.S. citizen who describes himself as a human rights defender, told Real America’s Voice that he was “shocked” that Joe Biden was being played by the Mexican president and other regional leaders, saying the White House “has a lot to learn.” .
Mujica repeatedly said Biden “dropped the ball,” saying he favored Donald Trump because his policies on the border were clear.
“This is being used by the countries to make sure they get what they want from the United States,” Mujica said.
‘I’m completely baffled. Joe Biden has lost the ball. Where is US intelligence?
“Don’t they know that all countries are conspiring against the United States to ensure that this crisis is averted?
“They’re making the baby, now they’re trying to sell it.”
Irineo Mujica, a US citizen who describes himself as a human rights defender and is accompanying the migrant caravan, said the Biden administration was being played by Latin American leaders
A caravan of 5,000 migrants left the southern Mexican border town of Tapachula on Monday to make their way to the northern border area opposite the United States.
The migrants left Tapachula and traveled 15 kilometers to the town of Alvaro Obregón, where they slept Monday night and left early Tuesday morning hoping to walk about another 24 kilometers.
Migrants from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti began the trek Monday after growing frustrated with the long waits imposed by the Mexican government.
They had been waiting for their refugee or exit visa applications to be processed at the main immigration processing center in the town of Tapachula in Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala.
The Mexican National Migration Institute, which is in charge of approving or rejecting the applications, is supported with requests.
Migrants normally wait weeks or months before their status is legalized, allowing them to work and move freely within the country.
But on Monday they left without the paperwork, hoping to reach the border and apply for asylum.
The march would be the largest since June 2022, when 6,000 people, many from Venezuela, set out from Tapachula.
Mujica is seen in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on October 20, demanding that free transit permits be given to migrants
Mujica hands out cookies and crackers in Tijuana in November 2018. He says the situation now is as bad as he has ever seen
Mujica, who accompanied them, claimed that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the Mexican president, was complicit in the chaos.
“I have been a human rights defender for almost 70 years and I have not seen it worse,” he said.
‘This is not normal. This is used by the countries to make sure they get what they want from the United States.”
He said Latin American countries were “transporting people and letting people in” as a way to get money from the United States to address the situation.
Mujica said he and a group of people crossed the Darien Gap, the treacherous stretch of jungle that separates Colombia and Panama, and that Colombian President Gustavo Petro turned a blind eye.
He alleged that the government was in cahoots with the drug cartels to profit from the migration.
“All these people went through, and then every country just gave them rights, charged them $20, $30, $40, and then pushed them in, pushed them in, all the way to the Mexican border,” he said.
“And then when you get to the Mexican border, you don’t have mass deportations.”
A migrant pushes a stroller as he walks along the road in Tapachula, Mexico, next to a caravan of about 5,000 people from Central America, Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba in an attempt to reach the U.S. border
Mujica said Latin American governments are “weaponizing” migrants, releasing or detaining them to extract money from Washington.
“As an American citizen, I would say don’t give money to Mexico or any of those countries that are fully responsible. Give them zero cents.”
He added: ‘It’s not humane what they’re doing.
‘Because they drain the blood of the migrants to the United States.
“Joe Biden has definitely lost the ball – he still has a lot to learn.
“I think Joe Biden’s policies are worse than Donald Trump’s, because Trump at least knew what to say to stop immigration.
‘He has lost all respect from countries.
“Obrador can bring them in and get what he wants from the United States.”
Single adults and family units were seen along the highway on Monday with police acting as an escort.
The group stopped traveling almost ten miles and reached the municipality of Alvaro Obregón, where they camped overnight, according to Mújica.
They were on the road again at 5 a.m. Tuesday and planned to advance another 15 miles, Univision said.
Venezuelan Daniel González said he had been on the road for three months and has no plans to return due to the poor economic situation at home.
The latest caravan of about 5,000 would be the largest since 6,000 people, mostly Venezuelans, left Tapachula in June 2022.
Oscar Gutiérrez also left Venezuela with his wife and two daughters and hopes Biden will allow them to be resettled there.
“In Venezuela, things are very tough, we cannot live with the money we get, it is not enough for us, and that is why we are going to the United States,” he said.
“We’ll keep going,” he said. “Nobody helps us in Tapachula.”
Leonel Olveras, a native of Honduras, said: ‘They don’t hand out papers here. They ask us to wait for months. It’s too long.’
A migrant family joined a caravan of migrants heading to the United States from Tapachula, Mexico
A migrant girl sleeps while other caravan members rest after a long day of travel
Migrants are tired of waiting weeks or months for their refugee or visa applications to be approved by Mexican immigration authorities
Some migrants in Tapachula had expressed interest in working for the government and helping with recovery efforts in the resort town of Acapulco, which was ravaged by Hurricane Otis last week.
The latest caravan comes at a time when Biden is under intense pressure to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants at the United States’ southwestern border.
US Customs Border and Protection recorded 269,735 encounters along the southern border region in September, the highest number since December 2022, when 252,315 interdictions were recorded.
In total, CBP reported 2,475,669 interdiction encounters in fiscal year 2023 (October 2022 to September 2022), surpassing the previous fiscal year when 2,378,944 encounters were recorded.
“In response to the high number of encounters across the southwest border in September, CBP has increased resources and personnel,” CBP Acting Commissioner Troy A. Miller said in an Oct. 21 statement.
“We are in ongoing discussions with domestic and foreign partners to address historic hemispheric migration, including large migrant groups traveling on freight trains, and to enforce consequences, including by preparing for direct repatriations to Venezuela. ‘