The Mexican authorities on Saturday opened their border to women and children who are part of the "caravan" of thousands of migrants, mostly Hondurans, who want to cross the border with Guatemala, hoping to reach the United States.
The Mexican ambassador to Guatemala, Luis Manuel Lopez, told AFP that these migrants would be registered by the Mexican Migration Service and then taken to a place of accommodation in Tapachula, some 40 km from Ciudad Hidalgo, in the center of Mexico.
"Happy, I'm happy!" Exclaimed Gina Paola Montes, 21, crossing the border bridge. "I came out of this nightmare".
Overwhelmed by emotion and exhaustion, another woman fainted across the border, causing panic among her relatives, some of whom burst into tears.
Some 4,000 migrants left San Pedro Sula a week ago in northern Honduras to try to reach the United States en masse.
After breaking through a metal fence at the Guatemalan border crossing, they advanced to the border bridge where they were blocked by about 200 Mexican riot police.
In the United States, US President Donald Trump congratulated Mexico for its firmness in the face of the arrival of migrants. On Thursday, he had threatened to close the border with Mexico if the authorities did not block the advance of the "caravan".
"Thanks to Mexico and its leaders. Why? Because Mexico today respects the leadership of the United States, "said Trump at a rally in Elko, Nevada.
Mexican authorities reported receiving 640 asylum applications at this border crossing, giving priority to approximately 150 women and 100 children.
Other migrants still stranded on the bridge, whose number has declined according to an AFP journalist on the spot, were preparing to spend the night in Guatemalan refugees. They expected to return to the border on Sunday morning.
Mexican navy doctors treated the wounds of several of them after the scuffles of the day before, as well as cases of dehydration.
"The united people will never be defeated," chanted some to give themselves courage. Or again: "We are workers, not delinquents!"
Dozens of others preferred to cross the river, on foot or on boats, sometimes jumping off the bridge.
Now illegal in Mexico, they are exposed to expulsion by the Mexican authorities.
Faced with the situation at the border, migrants have agreed to return to their country on buses provided by the Guatemalan government, after an agreement with Honduras, AFP found.
"It's better to go home, it's very hard, there's a lot of mess," says Byron, 25, waiting to board a bus.
More than 300 people would have accepted this proposal, according to the local police.
"Mexico will not allow irregular entry into its territory and even less violently," warned Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in a video message, describing the situation as "unpublished".
Most migrants accuse Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez of failing to address the social problems that cause these migrations.
The latter discussed the situation, Saturday in Guatemala, with his counterpart Jimmy Morales, as well as with the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto by phone.
This caravan has "political motivations" criticized Morales in front of the press. Beside him, his Honduran counterpart lamented "the political use of people's misfortune".
People "go out of necessity," justified the former Honduran MP Bartolo Fuentes of the party Freedom and Refoundation, who admitted to having encouraged this "caravan".
"Every day between 300 and 350 people" emigrate to the United States. "I advised them on social networks to leave together because it is less dangerous," he told AFP.
Last year, the caravan "Via Crucis" ("Way of the Cross"), which also triggered the wrath of the American president, was organized by NGOs.
Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world, with an annual rate of 43 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
More than 500,000 people illegally cross the southern border of Mexico each year and then attempt to get back to the United States, according to UN figures.
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