Pro-migration firebrand who started the migrant caravan: Honduran radio host encouraged people to band together for safety… now there is 14,000 of them
Bartolo Fuentes, a Honduran radio host, tried to help a few dozen people migrate
But TV news falsely reported that he was willing to pay for anyone heading north
That caused migrant caravan to swell from 200 people to several thousand
There are now thought to be a total of 14,000 people in at least three separate groups trying to make the journey to the US
By CHRIS PLEASANCE
DAILYMAIL.COM
24 October 2018
The man behind the migrant caravan currently snaking its way towards the US has been revealed as a former Honduran lawmaker and radio host.
Bartolo Fuentes, who lives in the capital Tegucigalpa, said it all began when he tried to help a few dozen migrants band together so they could go north with safety in numbers and support each other.
But things snowballed when HCH, the most-viewed TV news channel in Honduras, incorrectly reported that Fuentes was willing to pay transportation costs for anyone making the journey, he said.
Anchors Eduardo Maldonado and Ariela Cáceres also said Fuentes was willing to provide food for the journey, which can cost people upwards of $7,000 if they are forced to use smugglers.
‘After that news program I started to get hundreds of calls, then it took on a life of its own,’ Fuentes told the Daily Beast.
‘In Honduras, the government wants to minimize why people are leaving – they know they are going to leave and they want to say they are doing so because of lies and the opposition, not the conditions that they created.
‘And this pro-government news program played into that messaging, trying to say that there is financing when really people just need to get out.’
The Rest…HERE
