In a surprise report on the migrant caravans, Univision shifted from its usual portrayal of the migrants as hapless victims, and instead exposed the alleged terrorist ringleader among them: Alfredo Guerrero Ulloa. The Honduran fugitive, who joined the caravan last month, recently received vast media coverage not for the violent crimes of which he is accused in his native country, but for demanding that the U.S. Government pay $50,000 to every Honduran in the caravan to return home, an ultimatum that even many members of the caravan have criticized.
As Univision’s Jorge Fregoso details in his report, Guerrero Ulloa was identified as the prime suspect of having planted a bomb in 1987 that wounded six American soldiers in Honduras. Only a handful of media outlets have delved into his background and his hatred of the United States. Most focused solely on his most recent attempt to extort the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana.
In the Univision report, Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders) spokesman Irineo Mujica was also featured rushing to distance his organization from Guerrero Ulloa.
JORGE FREGOSO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: The controversial character, signaled for terrorism for his involvement in the attack on six U.S. soldiers in Honduras, says he joined the migrant caravan on November 4 in Córdoba, Veracruz. However, he is unknown to members of Pueblo Sin Fronteras.
IRINEO MUJICA, COORDINATOR, PUEBLO SIN FRONTERAS: Well, we haven´t seen him, for instance, at any shelter center, walking with the migrants, then, well, he is a person who is also sometimes an outsider.
Through its more detailed coverage of the issue, in addition to confirming the infiltration of the migrant caravans by unsavory characters like Guerrero Ulloa, Univision also underscored another truth about the primordial economic motivation of most of the asylum-seeking members of the caravan. However, economic duress is not an acceptable basis for claiming asylum in the United States, or anywhere else for that matter.
Below is the complete transcript of the above-referenced report, as broadcast during the December 13, 2018 edition of Noticiero Univisión.
Noticiero Univisión
December 13, 2018
ENRIQUE ACEVEDO, ANCHOR, UNIVISION: A member of the caravan demands that the U.S. Government compensate $50,000 to each of the migrants who are part of the group. The man faces charges for terrorism in his country and today discussed with Jorge Fregoso this ultimatum which has gained criticism even among members of the caravan.
JORGE FREGOSO, CORRESPONDEBT, UNIVISION: His statements caused controversy. He requested from the Government of the United States $50,000 for every Honduran who decided to return to his country, as a kind of compensation. But today he is saying something else. Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa, originally from Honduras, said his idea was to get the attention of the media in order for his real intention to be heard.
ALFONSO GUERRERO ULLOA, ALLEGED TERRORIST: United States would have to allow us free access to the territory. That a camp be built, within the United States, where can all be.
FREGOSO: Although he did refer to the amount requested in a letter to the United States Consulate. He basically says the government of that country owes it to each one of the Central Americans.
GUERRERO ULLOA: Do you think that the life of one of them is worth $50,000? Do you think that the life of people who are under, who died on the way, is worth $50,000?
FREGOSO: Inside the shelter, where we finally found him, there are divided opinions on the petition for money.
JOSÉ REYES, MEMBER OF THE CARAVAN: Perhaps not that quantity, but something. I think that half of us, how could we not, would go back, yes. They wouldn’t go to bother the country there.
FREGOSO: But there are those who say they do not know the content of the famous letter, but mostly they reject the proposition. Their main motive to reach the border is to work, not to get anything for free.
DOUGLAS OVIEDO, MEMBER OF THE CARAVAN: We want to work. You earn money by working, you don’t earn it asking for it in that way.
FREGOSO: The controversial character, who is accused of terrorism for his involvement in the attack on six U.S. soldiers in Honduras, says he joined the migrant caravan on November 4 in Córdoba, Veracruz. However, he is unknown to members of Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders).
IRINEO MUJICA, COORDINATOR, PUEBLO SIN FRONTERAS: Well, we haven´t seen him, for instance, at any shelter center, walking with the migrants, then, well, he is a person who is also sometimes an outsider.
FREGOSO: But while opinions here continue to clash, the controversy continues as a result of this suggestion of $50 thousand dollars, especially on social media, where the attacks have come swiftly. In Tijuana, Jorge Fregoso, Univision.
