Did they try Uber?
Thousands of wary Central American migrants resumed their push through Mexico on Sunday, a day after arguments over the path ahead saw some travelers splinter away from the main caravan, which is entering a treacherous part of its journey.
The majority of the roughly 4,000 migrants are now headed along what some called the “route of death” toward the town of Cordoba, Veracruz, which is about 124 miles (200 kilometers) up the road. The daily trek will be one of the longest yet, as the exhausted group of travelers tries to make progress any way it can.
The arduous trip has already taken its toll.
A day prior, the group was beset by divisions as migrants argued with caravan organizers and criticized Mexican officials before setting out on their own for Puebla and Mexico City.
Some were disappointed after caravan organizers unsuccessfully pleaded for buses after three weeks on the road. Others were angry for being directed northward through the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, calling it the “route of death.”
A trek via the sugar fields and fruit groves of Veracruz takes them through a state where hundreds of migrants have disappeared in recent years, falling prey to kidnappers looking for ransom payments.
Authorities in Veracruz said in September they had discovered remains from at least 174 people buried in clandestine graves, raising questions about whether the bodies belonged to migrants.
But even with the group somewhat more scattered, the majority of migrants trekking through Veracruz on Sunday were convinced that traveling as a large mass was their best hope for reaching the U.S.
“We think that it is better to continue together with the caravan. We are going to stay with it and respect the organizers,” said Luis Euseda, a 32-year-old from Tegucigalpa, Honduras who is traveling with his wife Jessica Fugon. “Others went ahead, maybe they have no goal, but we do have a goal and it is to arrive.”