Graphic shows details of border force and migrant routes.
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LATIN AMERICA

U.S. to deploy 5,200 troops to the Mexican border

By Mike Tyler

October 30, 2018 - The Pentagon says it is sending 5,200 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to the anticipated arrival of groups of Central American migrants travelling north towards the region.

General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the head of U.S. Northern Command, said 800 troops were already en route to the Texas border and 5,200 would be headed to the southwest region by week’s end. Some of the troops will be armed. Three helicopters will be deployed and enough razor wire will be made available to cover 250km of the border

O’Shaughnessy said the military would work alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection to shore up the border beginning in Texas, followed by Arizona and California. The troops will join the more than 2,000 National Guardsmen that U.S. President Donald Trump has already deployed to the border.

A 4,000-strong caravan of mostly Honduran migrants, who left their country in mid-October, is moving through southern Mexico towards the U.S. border. A second group of migrants has since arrived at Guatemala’s border with Mexico, and a third caravan has left El Salvador.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 30/10/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
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