Another migrant caravan sets out from El Salvador

A second caravan of Salvadoran migrants set off en route to the US on Wednesday, less than a week after an initial caravan embarked on the northward journey, media reported.

The most recent caravan is made up of two groups of 300 people each, including women and children. Those groups started out just over one hour apart on a trek from this capital to La Hachadura, on the border with Guatemala.

The migrants are taking a similar route to the one thousands of Hondurans are now covering in their quest to reach the US, Efe reported.

The groups are being accompanied by police, according to deputy inspector Otto Urrutia, and by paramedics who will be able to provide assistance if necessary.

The second caravan has set off three days after an initial group of 500 people embarked from El Salvador on a journey of roughly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) to the US-Mexico border.

Of that first group, Guatemalan authorities on Monday reported the entry of at least 356 Salvadorans.

It is unclear though whether they will be able to enter the US, since US President Donald Trump's administration has confirmed on Tuesday that it will deploy more than 5,000 troops to the US-Mexico border to prevent the entry of undocumented Central American migrants.

Those soldiers will join more than 2,000 National Guard troops who already are providing assistance to Border Patrol agents.

Irregular migration from El Salvador is motivated by the search for a better quality of life, a desire for family reunification and a fear of violence, among other reasons.

--IANS

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