Trump threatens to send military, shut border as migrants head for Mexico

A Honduran migrant, part of a caravan trying to reach the U.S., climbs on a truck during a new leg of their travel in Escuintla, Guatemala October 18, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

WASHINGTON/GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to deploy the military and close the southern U.S. border if Mexico does not halt a caravan of Central America migrants heading north, raising the risk of huge disruptions to trade.

Stretching almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km), the U.S.-Mexican border is one of the busiest in the world, processing thousands of commuters daily and much of the half a trillion dollars of annual trade between Mexico and the United States.