For Honduran migrants in caravan, the journey is personal

Honduran migrants, taking part in a caravan heading to the US, rest during a stop in Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico, on October 24, 2018. (AFP / PEDRO PARDO)
Updated 25 October 2018
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For Honduran migrants in caravan, the journey is personal

  • The caravan of Central American migrants traveling through southern Mexico has increased from 2,000 to 7,000 people, nearly all Hondurans.
  • While they commonly cite the same core reasons for migrating — poverty, violence — their stories are deeply personal

HUIXTLA, Mexico: A deportee from the United States trying to get back to the life he spent more than a decade building. A woman whose soldier husband already is in the US with their 4-year-old son. A teenager desperate to earn money to support his diabetic mother back home.
The caravan of Central American migrants traveling through southern Mexico — estimated at around 7,000 people, nearly all Hondurans — has attracted headlines in the United States less than two weeks before Nov. 6 midterm elections.
But most of those walking through blistering tropical temperatures, sleeping on the ground in town squares and relying on donated food from local residents are unaware of US political concerns or even that there’s a vote coming up.
While they commonly cite the same core reasons for migrating — poverty, violence — their stories are deeply personal.
“My record is clean“
David Polanco Lopez, 42, is a former anti-narcotics officer from Progreso, Honduras. He’s traveling north in the caravan with his daughter Jenifer, 19, and his 3-year-old granddaughter, Victoria, whom the adults take turns pushing in a stroller.
Polanco came to the United States 13 years ago and applied for asylum after he was threatened by drug traffickers over his police work. He was given a court date, but he acknowledges he never showed up — in part because he didn’t understand the court document’s instructions, which were in English.
Polanco put down roots in Arizona: He married, and got a home. He thought that as long as he stayed out of trouble, he’d be fine.
“If they catch me committing a felony, then go ahead and kick me out,” Polanco said. “But my record is clean.”
He came to the attention of US immigration authorities three months ago when he caught a ride to work with a friend and Arizona police stopped them. Immigration officers later visited his home, he said, asked him to come outside and arrested him.
After being deported, he immediately turned around and headed back toward the United States with the caravan in hopes of rejoining his wife, who is from Mexico.
“I came (to the United States) fleeing the drug traffickers. The US police know that. They told me I qualified for asylum. But they didn’t give it to me,” Polanco said as he rested in the shade of a gas station in the far southern Mexican state of Chiapas. “I can’t live in Honduras because my life is in danger.”
Polanco said he will never give up on trying to return to the US That’s where his home, his family, his land are. He said he’s been paying US taxes for 13 years and never invested a cent in Honduras because “it’s unlivable, dangerous.”
“If they deport me I’ll just come back,” Polanco said, “because my place is there.”
“It's too much“
It’s been seven months since Alba Rosa Chinchilla Ortiz, a 23-year-old from Amapala in Honduras’ Valle department, has seen her 4-year-old son.
The boy’s father is an ex-soldier who — like Polanco — received death threats because of his job. Three times he survived attempts to kill him, Chinchilla said. He has applied for asylum in the United States and she’s trying to join him and their son.
Life on the road has been demanding. At one point, Chinchilla worried she was too exhausted to go any farther. She’s still moving forward, but fears dangers that may lie ahead — such as Mexican cartels, which have been known to kidnap, hold for ransom and kill migrants.
The separation has been almost more than she can bear.
“The desire to see my son is too much,” she said, speaking in the Mexican city of Huixtla, surrounded by dozens of fellow migrants and Mexican Red Cross workers.
Breaking into sobs, she wiped tears from her eyes with her thumb and forefinger.
“It’s the only thing that drives me,” Chinchilla said, “my son.”
’Treatment for my mother’
Reuniting with family in the US is something those on the road north frequently speak of. Marel Antonio Murillo Santos is doing the opposite — leaving his loved ones behind in Copan, Honduras.
After his parents separated five years ago, Murillo became the primary breadwinner for the family at age 13. His mom is diabetic, leaving her weak and missing a toe on each foot.
Dressed in a brown V-neck T-shirt, Murillo said he left with just 500 lempiras (about $20) in his pocket, a bit of clothing and a spare pair of shoes. He heard about the caravan from a friend, and decided on the spot to take off for the United States where he hopes to spend five years working and saving.
“What I want more than anything is to pay for treatment my mother needs for her health,” Murillo said. “Build a home for her, have a bit of money in the bank and also, if I’m able, invest in something or start a business for my mother to run.”
Mile after mile, this baby-faced young man, now 18 with a whispy black chin-beard, is constantly thinking of home and his mom and 5-year-old brother.
“When I go to eat, I wonder if they have eaten, where they are, if they are in good health,” Murillo said. “I spend all day thinking about them, until I close my eyes and sleep.”
’They're going to kill you’
If there’s any doubt about Honduras being a dangerous place, one need only talk to Joshua Belisario Sanchez Perez, a soft-spoken young man who worked odd jobs in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Back home, he had the misfortune of living in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in a city full of them.
He spoke with The Associated Press in an interview this week that aired on TV back home, and afterward gang members showed up at his mother’s home angry that he had talked about the violence that forced him to flee.
“Because I had talked about all the gangs, and all the crime,” Sanchez said.
“My mother said, ‘They came to the house and they saw you on the news,’” he continued. “’If you come back they’re going to kill you.’“


EU warns Armenia about Russian ‘hybrid threats’

Updated 1 sec ago
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EU warns Armenia about Russian ‘hybrid threats’

YEREVAN: The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Armenia to protect its democratic values amid “hybrid threats” from Russia on a visit to Yerevan on Monday.
Ties between Armenia and its traditional ally Russia have been strained since Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh, in which Moscow did not intervene.
Russia has for years been the main mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Brussels has played a stronger role recently, with Russia tied up with its Ukraine invasion.
Kallas visited several days after Armenia arrested a powerful cleric accused of plotting a coup against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
She said she discussed “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and specifically Russian hybrid activities in all countries” with Armenia’s foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“Armenia’s commitment to democracy and freedom is key. These values must be protected, especially in the face of hybrid threats, disinformation, and foreign interference,” she said.
Mirzoyan warned Moscow against interfering in its internal political affairs after the arrest of powerful cleric Bagrat Galstanyan.
But speaking in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Armenia against turning away from Moscow and against “attacks on the canonical, millennia-old Armenian Apostolic Church.”
“We do not put any pressure on Armenian authorities, we will wait for clarity on all these issues,” Lavrov said according to Russian news agencies.
“But we all understand that if Armenia turns away from its allies, its closest partners and neighbors, it will hardly be in the interests of the Armenian people,” he added.
Mirzoyan said Lavrov “would do better not to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs and domestic politics,” calling on Russian officials to “show greater respect for the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.”
Kallas said “the EU and Armenia have never been as close as we are now.”
She announced a new EU-Armenia partnership and a 270-million-euro “resilience and growth plan for 2024-2027.” She also welcomed Armenia’s move to initiate an EU accession process earlier this year.
Kallas re-affirmed the EU’s support to normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Cyprus invites Turkiye’s Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion

Updated 13 min 12 sec ago
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Cyprus invites Turkiye’s Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion

NICOSIA: Cyprus said on Monday it would invite arch-foe Turkiye to a summit during its European Union presidency next year despite a decades-long rift over Ankara’s 1974 invasion and its backing of a breakaway state on the divided island.
Nicosia will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first six months of 2026 and plans a summit of regional leaders, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, on issues related to the Middle East, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.
“You can’t change geography — Turkiye will always be a neighbor state to the Republic of Cyprus .. Mr.Erdogan will of course be welcome to this summit to discuss developments in the area,” he told journalists in Nicosia.
Christodoulides had earlier said the same in a British podcast aired on Monday in response to a question, saying the summit was planned for April 2026.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the invitation to Erdogan.
Cyprus and Turkiye have no diplomatic relations and hosting a Turkish president might prove challenging both because of the diplomatic tightrope arising from past conflict and logistical issues.
The eastern Mediterranean island was partitioned by a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a brief Greek-inspired coup, and Ankara supports a breakaway, unrecognized state in north Cyprus where it stations thousands of troops.
Christodoulides heads a Greek Cypriot administration that represents all of Cyprus within the EU but with its powers stopping at a ceasefire line splitting the island into northern and southern sections. Erdogan has never visited the south.


A hard right lawmaker is sworn in as Greece’s migration minister

Updated 42 min 51 sec ago
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A hard right lawmaker is sworn in as Greece’s migration minister

  • Thanos Plevris, 48, is expected to maintain Greece’s hard line in migration policy

ATHENS: A hard-right lawmaker was sworn in Monday as Greece’s migration minister, replacing a fellow right-wing political heavyweight who resigned following accusations of involvement in the distribution of European Union farm subsidies.
Five high-ranking government officials, including the previous migration minister, Makis Voridis, three deputy ministers and a secretary general, resigned last Friday following allegations they were involved in a scheme to provide EU agriculture subsidies to undeserving recipients.
The funds, which were handled by a government body known by its Greek acronym OPEKEPE, were allegedly given to numerous people who had made false declarations of owning or leasing non-existent pastures or livestock.
Thanos Plevris, 48, succeeded Voridis and is expected to maintain Greece’s hard line in migration policy. Both Plevris and Voridis joined the conservative New Democracy party in 2012, from the right-wing populist Popular Orthodox Rally, or LAOS, party.
Voridis has denied any involvement in the alleged farm subsidy fraud and said he resigned in order to clear his name.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has investigated the case, passed on a hefty file to the Greek Parliament last week that includes allegations of possible involvement of government ministers. Lawmakers enjoy immunity from prosecution in Greece that can only be lifted by parliamentary vote.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his New Democracy party had failed to stamp out graft.
“Significant reform efforts were made,” Mitsotakis said in a social media post. “But let’s be honest. We failed.”
He said anyone found to have received EU funds they were not entitled to would be ordered to return the money.
“Our many farmers and livestock breeders who toil and produce quality products, and all law-abiding citizens, will not tolerate scammers who claimed to have non-existent pastures and livestock, or those who enabled them to do so,” Mitsotakis said.


Scorching temperatures grip Europe, putting regions on high alert

Updated 55 min 26 sec ago
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Scorching temperatures grip Europe, putting regions on high alert

ANKARA: Forest fires fanned by high winds and hot, dry weather damaged some holiday homes in Turkiye as a lingering heat wave that has cooked much of Europe led authorities to raise warnings and tourists to find ways to beat the heat on Monday.
A heat dome hovered over an arc from France, Portugal and Spain to Turkiye, while data from European forecasters suggested other countries were set to broil further in coming days. New highs are expected on Wednesday before rain is forecast to bring respite to some areas later this week.
“Extreme heat is no longer a rare event — it has become the new normal,” tweeted UN Secretary-General António Guterres from Seville, Spain, where temperatures were expected to hit 42 Celsius (nearly 108 Fahrenheit) on Monday afternoon.
Reiterating his frequent calls for action to fight climate change, Guterres added: “The planet is getting hotter & more dangerous — no country is immune.”
In France, which was almost entirely sweltering in the heatwave on Monday and where air conditioning remains relatively rare, local and national authorities were taking extra effort to care for homeless and elderly people and people working outside.
Some tourists were putting off plans for some rigorous outdoor activities.
“We were going to do a bike tour today actually, but we decided because it was gonna be so warm not to do the bike tour,” said Andrea Tyson, 46, who was visiting Paris from New Philadelphia, Ohio.
Authorities in Portugal issued a red heat warning for seven of 18 districts as temperatures were forecast to hit 43 degrees Celsius, a day after logging a record June temperature of 46.6 degrees C. Almost all inland areas were at high risk of wildfires.
In Turkiye, forest fires fanned by strong winds damaged some holiday homes in Izmir’s Doganbey region and forced the temporary closure of the airport in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Authorities evacuated four villages as a precaution, the Forestry Ministry said.
In Italy, the Health Ministry put 21 cities under its level three “red” alert, which indicates “emergency conditions with possible negative effects” on healthy, active people as well as at-risk old people, children and chronically ill people.
Regional governments in northwestern Liguria and southern Sicily in Italy put restrictions on outdoor work, such as construction and agricultural labor, during the peak heat hours.
In southern Germany, temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) were expected on Monday, and they were forecast to creep higher until midweek – going as high as 39 degrees (102F) on Wednesday.
Some German towns and regions imposed limits on how much water can be taken from rivers and lakes.


North Korea’s Kim seen draping coffins with flag at Russia treaty anniversary

Updated 30 June 2025
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North Korea’s Kim seen draping coffins with flag at Russia treaty anniversary

SEOUL: North Korea’s state media showed on Monday leader Kim Jong Un draping coffins with the national flag in what appeared to be the repatriation of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, as the countries marked a landmark military treaty.
In a series of photographs displayed in the backdrop of a gala performance by North Korean and visiting Russian artists in Pyongyang, Kim is seen by rows of a half a dozen coffins, covering them with flags and pausing briefly with both hands resting on them.
The scene followed images of North Korean and Russian soldiers waving their national flags with patriotic notes written in Korean. Kim is seen at the gala seemingly overcome with emotion and audience members wiping away tears.
North Korea’s state KRT television aired the performance, which was attended by Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova who is leading a delegation to mark the first anniversary of the strategic partnership treaty as Kim’s guest.
The performance was enthusiastically received for inspiring confidence in the “ties of friendship and the genuine internationalist obligation between the peoples and armies of the two countries that were forged at the cost of blood,” KCNA news agency said.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the strategic partnership treaty in June last year in Pyongyang. It includes a mutual defense pact.
After months of silence, the two countries have disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops and lauded the “heroic” role they played in Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine to reclaim the Kursk region in western Russia.