The Americas

The Latest: Fears for kids motivate many migrants in caravan

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Central American migrants traveling with a caravan to the U.S. walk holding national flags from Mexico and Honduras, as they make their way to Mapastepec, Mexico, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. After a day of rest to honor a fellow traveler who died on the road on Monday, the march continues through Mexico. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Central American migrants traveling with a caravan to the U.S. make their way to Mapastepec, Mexico, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. After a day of rest to honor a fellow traveler who died on the road on Monday, the march continues through Mexico. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

The latest on the caravan of Central American migrants trying to reach the United States (all times local):

11 a.m.

Children appear to make up only about 5 to 10 percent of migrants in a caravan traveling through far-southern Mexico. But parents' hopes for their future and fears of what could happen to them back home are clearly a motivating factor behind many people's decision to leave.

Ludin Giron is a street vendor from Choloma, Honduras. She was riding in a motorcycle taxi designed for two with her three children, as well as another mother and her daughter.

Giron held son Justin in her lap, helped by daughter Astrid, 5. Behind them sat Nicole, 3. She described the threats and pressure they would be likely to face back home once they're older.

Giron said children are always in danger from gangs in Honduras: "When they see a pretty girl, they want her for themselves. If they see a boy, they want to get him into drugs."

Refusing either can be deadly.

Beside her sat Reyna Esperanza Espinosa, a tortilla maker from Cortes, Honduras, who was alongside her 11-year-old daughter Elsa Araceli.

Espinosa said there is no work in Honduras and "that's why we decided to come here, to give a better future for our children."

The caravan set out before dawn from the far-southern Mexico city of Huixtla. Migrants hope to trek another 45 miles Wednesday to the town of Mapastepec.