Children in Caravan Were Injured and Traumatized, UNICEF Warns

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Thursday warned that most of the Honduran children who were in the caravan that left for Guatemala last week returned to their country injured, extremely tired, or with psychological trauma. 

RELATED:

Honduras: 2nd Migrant Caravan of 2021 Heads to US-Mexico Border

Until January 20, about 3,854 adults and 108 children from the 7,000 caravan migrants returned to Honduras after Guatemala blocked their advance towards the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Eighty percent of those over 100 children were traveling to the U.S. alone, with no legal guardians," UNICEF noted, calling attention to the protection that migrant children and families should receive in such circumstances.

Honduras' Children, Adolescents and Family Department (DINAF) reported that most of the children traveling alone have already established communication with some of their relatives in Honduras.

"Honduran authorities will visit their homes and ensure that the child is reintegrated into the family," DINAF official Tania Padilla assured while informing that Guatemala's government still has under its custody another 42 children.

"We are making arrangements to return them to Honduras in the coming days," Padilla explained.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), most migrants who keep advancing towards the U.S. are in grave danger. They could become victims of human smuggling and trafficking by criminal groups.