A Honduran migrant caravan bound for the US remains stranded in Guatemala as security forces block their way.

The migrants have been detained near Chiquimula where forces used batons and tear gas.

Footage shows the migrants travelling through the night before they were met with resistance from security forces on January 17.

SHOTLIST:

1. Various of security forces on the Chiquimula highway in Guatemala
2. Various of caravan overnight
3. Various of the Guatemalan security forces blocking the passage of migrants

STORYLINE:
Around 6,000 Hondurans who are part of a migrant caravan in search of the "American dream" remain stranded this Sunday on a highway in eastern Guatemala, where security forces have blocked their way.

Honduran migrants have been detained since Saturday at the same point in the department of Chiquimula, some 200 kilometers east of the Guatemalan capital.

The Guatemalan Migration Institute reported at 21.55 local time (03.55 GMT on Monday) that the caravan had not moved and that "the coordination of voluntary returns continues."

The Hondurans are part of a migrant caravan of more than 9,000 compatriots, according to official calculations, which left San Pedro Sula, a city in northern Honduras, in different phases last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The group that is stranded is made up of around 6,000 migrants, while the other 3,000 Hondurans in the caravan have managed to advance in some cases and in others the crowd has been thinning or has started the journey back to their country.

The caravan of 9,000 Hondurans passed between Friday night and Saturday through the El Florido border post, in the same department of Chiquimula and only about 20 kilometers from where about two-thirds of the total are detained this Sunday.

The migrants refuse to back down even after they were forcefully repressed by the army and police while trying to advance.

The Guatemalan Army has deployed more than 5,000 soldiers in seven departments of the country and is also supported by thousands of other agents of the National Civil Police as part of a plan organized by the Government to prevent migrants from advancing.

Hondurans cannot continue their journey if they do not meet a negative test for covid-19, according to the Guatemalan Migration Institute.

The Ministry of Health confirmed 21 positive cases of covid-19 inside the caravan this Sunday, after testing migrants who approached the health authorities during the journey to request assistance.