San Pedro Sula, January 17 (RHC)-- A total of 709 people from the migrant caravan that left Honduras earlier this week crossed the Guatemalan border with the intention of reaching the United States in search of better living conditions.

The director of Honduras' Permanent Contingency Commission (Copeco), Lisandro Rosales, said that 359 migrants entered Guatemalan territory in the Agua Caliente's border area.   Another 350 Hondurans broke police barriers to enter the country irregularly, trying to continue on their trip to Mexico.   Rosales indicated that 23 unaccompanied minors were referred to the Directorate of Children, Family and Adolescents (Dinaf) for their accompaniment during the return to their places of origin.

One of those cases is that of two Honduran brothers, aged 12 and 14, who were abandoned by their aunt.  The minors will be reunited with their grandmother, who is responsible for their care, since their mother lives in the United States.

The police installed 54 checkpoints at the borders with Guatemala and El Salvador.  Honduran authorities reiterated the call to their compatriots to not "put their lives at risk on the migratory route," noting that at least 11 Hondurans from the first caravans died while attempting to reach U.S. territory.

According to the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs, none of the thousands of migrants who made caravan trips to the U.S. last October "has managed to obtain political asylum or permission to remain in that territory on a regular basis."

Using the motto "In Honduras They Kill Us," the new caravanistas began the preparation to leave Honduras in December with hopes to escape their country's high instances of poverty and violence.