Thousands of Central American refugees and migrants have been coming to the MexicoU.S. border for almost 40 years – and in spring of 2018, the Trump administration enacted a “zerotolerance” policy that led to the arrest of any and all refugees and migrants attempting to cross the border into the United States. The most controversial aspect of the policy's enforcement was the forced separation of parents from their children. While much of the conversation has focused on Central Americans escaping violence, there hasn't been much on why there's so much violence in the region to begin with. The story? Almost 200 years of U.S. intervention.

EDIT: We messed up on certain map animations, excluding the nation of Belize it was unintentional. Thanks to everyone who highlighted this to us.

Learn more here:

ProPublica. “Listen to Children Who’ve Just Been Separated From Their Parents at the Border.”    • Listen to children who’ve just been s...  

Mic. “How the U.S Screwed Up Latin America, in 7 Classic Historical Cartoons.” https://mic.com/articles/92581/howth...

Migration Policy Institute. “Central American Immigrants in the United States.” https://www.migrationpolicy.org/artic...


Presenter & Senior Producer: Sana Saeed
Edited by: Brian Joseph
Animations by: Debbie Schedivy
Produced by: Omar Duwaji, Jenn Cain
Shot by: Brian Joseph, Jacob HurwitzGoodman
Executive Producer: Sarah Nasr

Music tracks courtesy of APM.

Footage and images courtesy of Getty, Reuters, Al Jazeera Media Network.