Manning the Balustrades: Trump's Promise to Shoot Stone-Throwing Migrants

Trump Threatens to Shoot Migrants Fleeing US-Fueled Violence and Instability

by TRNN

November 4, 2018  

As migrants and refugees in Central America flee violence, instability, and poverty, some of which has been fueled by the U.S. government itself, President Donald Trump has responded with threats of violence. Trump is sending up to 15,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. That is roughly as many as the U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Trump has fearmongered about a caravan of migrants from Central America who are fleeing violence. The US president has repeatedly lied about this migrant caravan, spewing falsehoods to stoke racism and xenophobia before the soon-approaching midterm elections. And on November 1, Trump escalated his threats even further, telling U.S. soldiers that they should shoot any migrants in the caravan who throw stones.

While Donald Trump deploys troops to the Mexico border and orders them to shoot immigrants who throw rocks, many people in this migrant caravan in fact already fled US government-fueled violence in Central America. Eduardo García discusses impunity for Border Patrol killings and US-backed instability in Honduras and Guatemala.