Terror of gang violence drives migrant caravans northward

A woman cries at a crime scene after two men were killed in gang violence in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, July 13, 2018. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

PUERTO CORTES PRISON, Honduras/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Former Honduran policeman Ivan says he moved homes so many times to escape the street gangs that terrorize his Central American country that he lost count. Fearful his sons would have to join the gangs or be killed, he eventually joined thousands of Hondurans fleeing to the United States.

The 45-year-old, who asked to be identified only by his first name, is journeying through Mexico in a caravan of several thousand mostly Honduran migrants who are fleeing violence and poverty for a better life in the United States.