"Teatro in Time of Plague – 54
Buses have begun today to operate again to and from San Pedro Sula. Also the line Yoro-Progreso-San Pedro Sula. Some taxis in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula are authorized to start working; I don’t know if that is true in Progreso. There are so many clandestine taxis…. Taxi guys have problems; they all have to pay a war tax to the gangs. A journalist, Luis Almendárez, was murdered last night in Comayagua; he died of his wounds this morning. Comayagua is about an hour this side of Tegucigalpa on the main highway. It was the colonial capital of Honduras and the first capital of the republic (the capital was moved to Tegus in 1880). A colonial section has been restored and is a tourist draw.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 - The official page hasn’t been updated.
I went to the office this morning, and to the bank. It was amazing: there was only one person in front of me, who did his business quickly. I was doing our end-of-month thing. I was done in 10 minutes. The journalist who was shot the other night in Comayagua, Luis Almendárez: turns out he was shot by two guys on a motorcycle (which is a standard sicario tactic – one to drive and one to shoot) and then called for help on Facebook, where he has a regular following. The Facebook Live Murder Mystery. (Two men on a motorcycle is illegal – a measure usually observed).
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 - 76, 098 cases, 2, 289 deaths.
The mobile hospital in San Pedro Sula will be turned over to the authorities next week. They say. Let us see. There was another 2 men on a motorcycle murder in Tegucigalpa yesterday; they killed a bus driver who was on his first day of work since everything crashed. A caravan is leaving from San Pedro Sula in the morning. Lousy time to go wetback, it seems to me. I think this is the first one since the shutdown. A Radio Progreso reporter said it was about 600 strong, and would probably get stronger overnight. The caravans are simply a way for people to get protection on the journey: there’s safety in numbers.
Thursday, October 1, 2020 - 76, 900 cases, 2, 353 deaths
According to Radio Progreso, the caravan leaving from the main bus terminal of San Pedro Sula grew to over 3,000 people. The border with Guatemala has been opened, so they can go without problem until they reach the border with México. The Guardian has an article about the caravan: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/honduran-migrant-caravan-cross-guatemala Radio Progreso has a reporter going with them.
Friday, October 2, 2020 - 77, 598 cases, 2, 380 deaths.
The ships that are bringing two more mobile hospitals stopped for a drink (or something) in Trinidad and Tobago. So they won’t be here tomorrow as promised. They claim that three more are ready to set sail from Turkey. The caravan is having trouble, it seems: Guatemalan police are capturing several and sending them back. They seem to have divided into two groups, one heading for the frontier of the Petén, the other heading for the capital and from there to Tecun-Uman, the border with México. They seem to be pretty disorganized. AMLO, the president of Mexico has said this caravan was organized to influence the US elections.
Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 78, 269 cases, 2, 386 deaths
I basically took the day off, read newspapers, listened to music. The caravan seems to be in trouble. A lot have turned back. One (a 17 year old) fell from a truck and was killed. They have divided into 3 groups: one is going by Tikal to the border with the Petén region, one another route that I don’t understand, and one to the capital and from there to Tucun-Uman, border with Mexico. It was on NPR news today.
Sunday, October 4, 2020 - 78, 788 cases, 2, 399 deaths.
The caravan seems to have been broken up by the Guatemalan police and army; they provided buses and trucks to take people back the the Honduran border point of Corinto. México had already begun to send military to the border for when they got there. A small group seems to have been going ahead and is still at it, but that would be a couple hundred at most.
Keep safe and wash your hands,
Jack
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c/o Jesuit Advancement Office
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