More than 1500 Hondurans fleeing violence join migrant. Review the caravan – in pictures

President Donald Trump has threatened to cut financial aid to Honduras over a large group of migrants heading towards the US border.

In a Tweet posted on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the country's president was told funds would be cut "immediately" if the group was not stopped and returned.

Honduras has a long history of poverty and corruption. It also has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

The group of at least 1,500 migrants grew rapidly in size over the weekend.

About 160 people originally set off on Friday from San Pedro Sula, a notorious Honduran crime hotspot.

They pushed across the border into Guatemala on Monday, despite a heavy police presence and government order attempting to block their route.

Shortly after Mr Trump's tweet, it was reported that Bartolo Fuentes, one of the caravan's organisers and a former Honduran legislator, had been detained by Guatemalan authorities to be deported back to Honduras.

This is the second time Mr Trump has threatened Honduras's aid over migrants, in April saying it was "in play" over another group.

The US sent more than $175m (£130m) to the country in 2016 and 2017,according to the US Agency for International Development.

Officials in Mexico and the US have been monitoring the migrants, who have formed what is known as "a caravan", over the past few days, issuing threats about their rights to enter the country.

Last week, Vice President Mike Pence urged Central American countries to do more to prevent mass migration.

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Image captionThe group was held at the border by Guatemalan police on Monday for several hours

"Tell your people: don't put your families at risk by taking the dangerous journey north to attempt to enter the United States illegally," Mr Pence said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Honduras foreign ministry urged its citizens against joining the caravan, dismissing it as a political ploy to " to disrupt the governability, stability and peace of our countries".

Tell your people: don't put your families at risk by taking the dangerous journey north to attempt to enter the United States illegally," Mr Pence said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Honduras foreign ministry urged its citizens against joining the caravan, dismissing it as a political ploy to " to disrupt the governability, stability and peace of our countries".

Honduras, which has a population of about nine million, has endemic problems with gang violence, drug wars and corruption.

According to the World Bank, more than 60% of the population lives in poverty, with one in five people living in extreme poverty.

The country is led by President Juan Orlando Hernandez - who was re-elected in November 2017 in a contested vote which led to election violence and protests.

Jari Dixon, a Honduran politician, Tweeted on Monday (in Spanish) that the caravan was not "seeking the American dream" but "fleeing the Honduras nightmare"

."The law does not provide for any permission to enter the country without meeting the requirements, and then go on to a third country," the government agency said.US officials are also monitoring the group. On Sunday the US Embassy in Honduras said it was "seriously concerned" about the caravan travelling north with "false promises of entering the US".

The president has been vocal about wanting to reduce migration on the country's southern border, and has overseen a range of "zero-tolerance" measures tightening rules since he took office.

Changes to detention rules saw thousands of migrant children detained and separated from their parents earlier this year, sparking national and international condemnation.

Mr Trump backed down and signed an order that ended the policy in June,but hundreds of children are reported to be still separated from their families.

Source BBC News

Mariana DAngelo Editorial Group LLC / USA

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