When a caravan of migrants tried to cross from Guatemala into Mexico, an AP team showed in real time how effective a coordinated multiformat effort can be in covering breaking news.
From the moment a caravan of Central American migrants set out from Honduras and crossed through Guatemala toward a series of standoffs with Mexican authorities on Jan. 20, the AP was there, documenting every step of the way. Knowing that Mexican authorities were determined not to let the migrants pass, editors deployed cross-format teams to cover the caravan from both the Guatemalan and the Mexican sides of the border. That effort put the AP far ahead of the competition on the day the situation came to a head.
When the migrants went to the Suchiate River to cross toward Mexico, text reporters were able to shoot compelling live video via Bambuser, the live-streaming technology, to supplement live content produced by video stringers. Photographers quickly filed images, while AP’s video journalists also worked the story.
Having the teams already in place was key to the success of the coverage, said Matt Chandler, news director for Latin America and the Caribbean, in an email. “The staff from the three formats worked very, very closely together. Video staff contributing to the text report; text staff doing live Bambuser at critical moments. Video, text and photos all communicating well. Everyone worked incredibly long days in the field, getting up with the migrants each morning at 4 or 5 a.m.”
Central American migrants cross the Suchiate River by foot from Tecun Uman, Guatemala, to Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Moises Castillo
Central American migrants carry children as they run across the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico, near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Santiago Billy
Migrants gather at the bridge spanning the Suchiate River in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Jan. 20, 2020, on the border with Mexico.
AP Photo / Santiago Billy
A migrant girl looks at Mexican National Guardsmen at the border crossing between Guatemala and Mexico in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Jan. 18, 2020.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
A migrant breastfeeds her baby as she walks with a group of migrants along a highway in hopes of reaching the distant United States, near Agua Caliente, Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2020, on the border with Honduras. Hundreds of Honduran migrants started walking and hitching rides from the city of San Pedro Sula, in a bid to reach the U.S. border.
AP Photo / Santiago Billy
Central American migrants run on the bank on the Mexican side of the Suchiate River after crossing from Guatemala, near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
A Central American migrant who crossed the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico is blocked by Mexican National Guards on the riverbank near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
A Central American migrant throws a stone at Mexican National Guards after crossing the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico, on the riverbank near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Santiago Billy
Central American migrants who crossed the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico are stopped by Mexican National Guardsmen on the riverbank near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
On the riverbank, migrant children run from clashes with Mexican National Guards after their group crossed the Suchiate River on foot from Guatemala to Mexico, near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Santiago Billy
Migrant youth fight over cigarettes on the Mexican side of the Suchiate River near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 21, 2020. Some Central American migrants were stranded in a sort of no-man’s land on the river border between Guatemala and Mexico after running up against lines of Mexican National Guard troops the previous day.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
Central American migrants stand in line for food at a temporary shelter for migrants set up by authorities in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, a location popular for migrants to cross into Mexico, Jan. 22, 2020.
AP Photo / Moises Castillo
Honduran migrants who tried to enter Mexico on foot return to the Guatemalan side of the Suchiate River under the watch of a Mexican National Guard near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 22, 2020. The number of migrants stuck at the Guatemala-Mexico border dwindled as detentions and resignation ate away at what remained of the latest caravan.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
Central American migrants walk before sunrise toward the Suchiate River as they leave Tecun Uman, Guatemala, prepared to cross the river into Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020.
AP Photo / Moises Castillo
Central American migrants cross the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020. Migrants marooned in Guatemala walked en masse across ther river into Mexico in a second attempt to convince authorities there to allow them passage through the country.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
Central American migrants cross the Suchiate River from Tecun Uman, Guatemala, to Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020. Migrants marooned in Guatemala waded en masse across the river into Mexico in an attempt to convince authorities there to allow them passage through the country to the U.S.
AP Photo / Moises Castillo
A Central American migrant carries a child across the Suchiate River from Tecun Uman, Guatemala, to Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020.
AP Photo / Moises Castillo
Central American migrants carry a homemade U.S. flag in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020. Hundreds of migrants marooned in Guatemala crossed the Suchiate River into Mexico in a second attempt to convince authorities there to allow them passage through the country.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
A migrant woman carries a child away from Mexican National Guards blocking the passage of a group of Central American migrants near Tapachula, Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020. Hundreds of Central American migrants crossed the Suchiate River into Mexico from Guatemala after a days-long standoff with security forces.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
Central American migrants carry a handmade U.S. flag and banners after crossing the Suchiate River from Guatemala in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 23, 2020.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
Far from the action, desk staffers moved quickly to send the material to the clients. Among the highlights:
– Mexico City reporter María Verza was there when Mexican officials sealed off a border bridge and put down the efforts of hundreds to push their way through the gates. Later, she and AP video stringer Diego Delgado each went live with dramatic video as migrants tried to ford the Suchiate River into Mexico. Guatemala stringer photographer Santiago Billy captured aerial photos of the river crossing and chaotic scenes as migrants faced authorities on the Mexican shore.
– AP Guatemala correspondent Sonia Pérez D. witnessed Guatemalan police sweeping up most of a group of 300 people and busing them back to Honduras.
A Mexican National Guard detains a Central American migrant after he crossed the Suchiate River with a group of migrants from Guatemala into Mexico near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Jan. 20, 2020.
AP Photo / Marco Ugarte
– Guatemala photographer Moisés Castillo was in Tecun Uman when Honduras migrants gave up on their dream and started boarding buses to go back to their country. On the Mexican side, photographer Marco Ugarte captured each moment of the drama that migrants were facing – he shot one of the photos that was published all around the world: a national guard holding a migrant by the neck.
– Mexico City reporter Peter Orsi and video stringer Marcelo Viaño saw guardsmen banging riot shields with batons, advancing on hundreds of remaining migrants and definitively breaking up the last members of the caravan who had made it into Mexico.
The text and video were among our top stories of the day for member use on Jan. 22 and video was among the most used.
For getting to the story early and then collaborating closely to produce dominant images and stories of the latest chapter in the migrant saga from Central America, Castillo, Verza, Viano, Delgado, Perez D., Ugarte, Orsi and Billy share AP’s Best of the Week honors.