Some 3,000 Central Americans traveling in a mass caravan broke through a Guatemalan border fence and streamed by the thousands toward Mexican territory Friday, the AP reports, defying Mexican authorities' entreaties for an orderly migration and President Donald Trump's threats of retaliation. Arriving on the Mexican side of a border bridge, they were met by a phalanx of police with riot shields. About 50 managed to push their way through before officers unleashed pepper spray and the rest retreated. The gates were closed again, and a federal police officer used a loudspeaker to address the masses, saying, "We need you to stop the aggression." Waving Honduran flags and carrying umbrellas to protect against the sun, the migrants arrived earlier at the Guatemalan side of the muddy Suchiate River that divides the country from Mexico, noisily demanding they be let in.
Young men began tugging on the fencing and finally succeeded in tearing it down, and men, women, and children rushed through and toward the border bridge just up the road. Edwin Santos of San Pedro Sula was one of the first to race past helpless Guatemalan police, clutching the hands of his father and wife. "We are going to the United States!" he shouted euphorically. "Nobody is going to stop us!" Earlier Friday, Mexico's ambassador to Guatemala said his country intended to enforce what he called a policy of orderly entry in the face of the thousands trying to cross. Trump has made it clear to Mexico that he is monitoring its response. Early Thursday, he threatened to close the US border if Mexico let the migrants advance. Later, he retweeted a video of Mexican federal police arriving at the Guatemalan border and wrote: "Thank you Mexico, we look forward to working with you!"
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