Mexico's Sheinbaum says migrant caravan not moving toward US now as Trump threatens tariffs

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday said that a ‌migrant caravan was just forming in the south and not currently on the move, as Washington threatened retaliation should the people arrive at the US border. Mexico's National Migration Institute told Reuters a group of about 870 people was gathered in the ‌city of Huixtla, some 60 km (37 miles) west of Mexico's southern border with Guatemala.

Two local sources and a ‌non-governmental organization estimated the group at 1,500 to 2,000 people. The numbers would make this the largest migrant caravan so far this year. Sheinbaum told a regular morning press conference no group was currently moving northward. The US border is some 2,900 km (1,800 miles) north of Huixtla.

"There ⁠is no ​caravan currently in transit through ⁠our country on its way to the border," she said. An earlier caravan had "dissolved while en route, and most of its members have already ⁠returned to their countries of origin, and another caravan is only just forming," she said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened ​to double tariffs on Mexico if it does not stop groups of migrants from reaching the US border. The ⁠two countries are each other's top trade partners, exchanging some $779 billion worth of goods in the first nine months of this year. Mexico's Economy Minister ⁠Marcelo ​Ebrard told reporters he was in contact with counterparts in the US and as of Friday, the migrant group was not impacting ongoing trade negotiations.

The latest wave of migration, which stems mainly from Central America, began after ⁠last week's midterm election in the United States, in which the Democratic Partywon control of Congress starting in January. Prospective migrants ⁠in Central America hope ⁠this could facilitate options to live and work in the United States, after an anti-migration crackdown under the Trump administration saw many people forcibly deported or choosing to leave the ‌country.