This is the fourth flight this week from McAllen, Texas, carrying migrants expelled from the United States

Migrants deported from the United States are transferred to the Mexico-Guatemala border

photo_camera AFP/JOHAN ORDOÑEZ - Security forces block migrants on their way to the United States in Vado Hondo, Guatemala

Some 240 Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, coming from the city of McAllen, Texas, arrived on Thursday at Tapachula International Airport, a city in the Mexican state of Chiapas, to be transferred to the Mexico-Guatemala border.

The migrants were expelled from Mexican territory through the border of El Carmen San Marcos, Guatemala.

At around 18:00 (23:00 GMT), the ship carrying the migrants landed in Tapachula and was met by agents of the National Guard and the National Migration Institute (INM).

Initially, migration authorities set up two passenger buses for the foreigners to board in order to be deported via the Mexico-Guatemala border, located about 30 minutes from the Tapachula air terminal.

Subsequently, they set up other vehicles to transport the migrants and also to prevent the media from observing the logistics and the way they were loaded onto the buses, in the midst of a discreet operation by the agents.

According to Efe news agency, the migrants, women and men who came on the flight, disembarked with a healthy distance and respecting the sanitary protocols required by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the buses, still parked alongside the plane, adults, young people and children could be seen.

Migrantes hondureños descansan en el borde de la carretera mientras tratan de avanzar más allá de los puestos de control establecidos por la Policía guatemalteca en Zacapa

This is the fourth flight this week from McAllen, Texas, carrying migrants expelled from the United States. 

Two hours later, the four buses, guarded by the National Guard, arrived at the Talisman border in El Carmen, department of San Marcos, Guatemala.

Despite heavy rain, the deportation of the migrant families did not stop and reached the border between Mexico and Guatemala.

After passing through Mexican customs, the Guatemalan migrants remained under a tent set up by the Ministry of Health until the rain passed and minutes later they made their way back to their communities.

On 30 July, US President Joe Biden's administration officially resumed rapid removals by airlifting undocumented deportees back to their countries of origin in Central America.

Migrantes cruzan el río Suchiate en una balsa desde Guatemala a Ciudad Hidalgo, México

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that it "resumed expedited removal flights for certain families who recently arrived at the southern border", which were sent to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

On Tuesday, delegations from Mexico and the United States held a high-level meeting at the Mexican Foreign Ministry's headquarters in Mexico City to discuss migration issues in the region, as well as border security and economic development.

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