But others, wary of the difficulties of crossing into the United States, said they would settle for temporary shelter in Mexico — where authorities have indicated they would provide work permits and humanitarian aid to caravan members.
Juan Guaidó wants a "humanitarian avalanche" and "caravans" to go to the borders to get the aid next Saturday.
PAGE 4 Obituaries LUCIUS WALKER, 80 He was a Baptist minister who gained national attention with calls for reparations for the descendants of slaves and with repeated violations of the United States embargo against Cuba through caravans of humanitarian aid.
The Rev. Lucius Walker, a Baptist minister who gained national attention with calls for reparations for the descendants of slaves and with repeated violations of the United States embargo of Cuba through caravans of humanitarian aid, died on Tuesday at his home in Demarest, N.J.
As of a week ago, more than 600 Central Americans associated with the caravans had received humanitarian visas and more than 400 had applied for asylum in Mexico, the federal government reported.
Mr Guaidó has said he plans to get aid into the country on Saturday by urging Venezuelans to mobilise en masse and form "caravans" and a "humanitarian avalanche" at the borders.
Word that Mexico was offering caravan participants the new humanitarian visas traveled quickly through Central America and prompted others to make their way to the Mexican border bridge here, applicants said in interviews.
And when John Holmes, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, flew in last week, his extensive caravan received a military and police escort.
That is the central contention of Polman's new book, "The Crisis Caravan: What's Wrong with Humanitarian Aid?" (Metropolitan; $24), translated by the excellent Liz Waters.
Since 2008, immigrants in Central America have organized caravans to flee political and humanitarian crises, including corruption and gang violence, seeking asylum in Mexico or the United States.
