
Members of a 4,000-strong migrant caravan have made it to a Guatemalan border town across the muddy Suchiate River from Mexico and faced-off with authorities as a notorious march ringleader has been arrested.

The first members of the group began arriving in Tecun Uman on buses and trucks early Thursday, but the bulk of the caravan sloshed into town on foot in a downpour late in the afternoon and into the evening. Hundreds walked to the river's edge where they sang the national anthems of Honduras and Guatemala. By Friday a huge crowd was gathered - one man was seen being detained by Guatemalan police.

A smaller group walked to the border crossing but was blocked by Guatemalan police. They eventually retreated to await the rest of the caravan. The migrants, many who started traveling in small groups up to eight weeks ago, are covering around 30 miles a day.

Irineo Mujica, the director of the organisation Pueblo Sin Fronteras, who was detained at a march in Ciudad Hidalgo, southern Mexico when he led a caravan of hundreds of migrants towards the US border last spring has been arrested Thursday.

Mujica's organisation shared the following statement on Facebook: 'He was arrested along with three migrants by about 20 [immigration] agents and about 15 federal police as they marched toward a church as part of a welcome march for the Caminata del Migrante.'

Mexican immigration officials claimed that Mujica, who has dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, attacked immigration agents and local and federal police after he was asked for his identification during the protest.

The immigration agency added that he was detained by authorities for resisting and damaging property.

A clip showing Mujica being arrested saw him being bundled into a van while his supporters screamed in protest.

Members of a 4,000-strong migrant caravan have made it to a Guatemalan border town across the muddy Suchiate River from Mexico and faced-off with authorities

A man is detained by Guatemalan police while Honduran migrants gather around the central square of Tecun Uman, on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, Guatemala, Friday

Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the United States, argue with Guatemalan police officers after a fellow man, who had been arrested, was released in Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala, in the border with Mexico, on Friday

Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the United States, argue with Guatemalan police officers close to the Mexican border on Friday

Thousands of Honduran migrants wait at the border between Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Friday

Hundreds of Honduran migrants stand at the shore of the Suchiate river on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Thursday

Honduran migrants sing their national anthem standing standing at the shore of the Suchiate river on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Thursday

Hundreds walked to the river's edge where they sang the national anthems of Honduras and Guatemala on Thursday

Pueblo Sin Fronteras have called for his release, claiming that he was illegally detained by authorities.

In a statement, the group said: 'Mujica has committed no crime.'

The group also claimed that the National Commission for Human Rights, which was there for the demonstrations in the morning and afternoon, disappeared for around half an hour when Mujica was arrested.

President Donald Trump has threatened retaliation if the thousands of migrants continue toward the United States.

En route to Montana and at a rally there on Thursday night he opened a furious attack on Democrats, even suggesting they are responsible for a caravan of illegal immigrants making their way toward the border.

The map above shows the journey the caravan is taking from Honduras through Guatemala and up through Mexico into the U.S.

The latest caravan has been labelled the 'March of the Migrant,' or 'Caminata del Migrante.' Migrants are pictured on Friday

Thousands of Honduran migrants look up at a helicopter as they wait on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Friday

On the Mexican side, the foreign ministry said its government was in constant communication with members of the caravan explaining the migrants' options. Migrants are seen near the Mexican border Friday

Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the United States, gather at the central park of Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Friday

Trump blasted the caravan organizers for arriving before the November elections, casting it as a politically foolish move. 'Regardless, that's our issue,' he said at a rally at a private air hanger in Missoula.

'They're an there are those that say that caravan – it didn't just happen,' Trump said, blasting his opponents for bad politics.

'They have horrible policy. They hate ICE. They don't like our military. They don't like our vets,' Trump said. 'They wanted that caravan.'

Mujica's caravan in Spring also drew the anger of Trump and led to a US border crackdown.

The latest caravan has been labelled the 'March of the Migrant,' or 'Caminata del Migrante.'

The exhausted travelers, the majority from Honduras, dispersed to the local migrant shelter and parks where volunteers offered them food Thursday.

Jonathan Perales, 22, arrived with his wife Heidy and their daughters, aged two and four. They'd been traveling since 4am and arrived at the border after dark. They paid for bus tickets they could ill afford.

'It was a great sacrifice, but it's all for a better life,' he said. 'It's not all good. We're wet and we still don't have a place to sleep.'

On the Mexican side, the foreign ministry said its government was in constant communication with members of the caravan explaining the migrants' options. It said officials were already assisting some migrants who had crossed and requested refugee status.

Video of Irineo Mujica's arrest has gone viral on social media. He is seen (wearing black) above being bundled into a van by authorities

Irineo Mujica, the director of the organisation Pueblo Sin Fronteras, was detained at a march supporting a new giant 'caravan' of migrants headed to the US. Here he is pictured during a protest outside the US Embassy in Mexico City on April 12 this year

Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the United States, rest in Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala, in the border with Mexico, on Friday

A Honduran migrant heading in a caravan to the United States, holds a sign reading 'Donald Trump, we are not criminals, we are workers who want to work', at the central park of Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala, in the border with Mexico, on Friday

A Honduran migrant waves the flags of Guatemala and Honduras during his journey in the caravan of migrants heading to Mexico, in Mazatenango, Guatemala, on Thursday

Mexican federal police officers walk at the international border bridge that links Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, with Tecun-Uman, Guatemala, in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas state, Mexico, on Thursday

Paramedics attend Honduran migrant Jose Alainez, 49, who suffered an epileptic seizure while walking north with other migrants, before taking him to the hospital in Guatemala City

Honduran migrants aboard a pick-up van, head to the United States in a caravan under heavy rain 60 km south of Guatemala City

Honduran migrants are taken care of by Guatemalan Red Cross volunteers, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Thursday

Honduran migrants, part of a caravan trying to reach the U.S., rest inside a shelter during a new leg of their travel in Tecun Uman, Guatemala on Thursday

Trump has made it clear to Mexico that he is monitoring its response. Early Thursday, he threatened to close the U.S. border if Mexico let the migrants advance. Later, he retweeted a video of Mexican federal police arriving at the Guatemalan border and wrote: 'Thank you Mexico, we look forward to working with you!'

Two busloads of those police were visible on the Mexican side of the bridge from Tecun Uman Thursday. Metal barricades were stored to one side, but not yet deployed.

Edgar Corzo of Mexico's National Human Rights Commission expressed concern about the police deployment in Ciudad Hidalgo.

'We hope that the immigration officials and federal police have a humanitarian understanding,' Corzo said. He said they were 'worried that things could escape rational margins.'

Mexico's southern border is notoriously porous and it was unclear how many of the migrants would attempt to cross legally at the bridge.

Some migrants crossed the river at a point where they could walk through shallow water Thursday, Corzo said. Others could opt for the rafts that ferry people — and historically migrants — daily across the river.

'How they're going to cross is what we're anxious about,' he said.

Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the United States, queue to receive food, after arriving in Mazatenango, Suchitepequez departament 160 km south of Guatemala City, on Thursday

A couple of Honduran migrants stand at the shore of the Suchiate river on the border between Guatemala and Mexico

The new caravan, believed to be 4,000-people strong, is far larger than last spring's and has already led to Nation Guard troops being sent to the border - the last caravan numbered more than 1,200 people at its highest point with 300 of those people having crossed into the US.

It has also prompted a slew of new rulings about asylum law from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the introduction of a 'zero tolerance' policy for border crossers that led to family separations.

The caravan started its journey in Honduras before crossing into Guatemala on its way to Tapachula, which is the primary crossing point from Guatemala to Mexico.

Pueblo Sin Fronteras has said it has no organizational role in the current caravan, although Mujica has been quoted as saying they would 'help'.

On Tuesday, he told Honduran newspaper La Prensa his group were not supporting a new caravan but would aid it if it entered Mexico.

This prompted Mujica to travel to the march in Ciudad Hidalgo to express his support.

Mexico has said the Hondurans would not be allowed to enter as a group and would either have to show a passport and visa — something few have — or apply individually for refugee status, a process that can mean waiting for up to 90 days for approval. They also said migrants caught without papers would be deported.

Thursday night, a man from Pueblo Sin Fronteras who did not give his name, told migrants in Tecun Uman that they would try to cross en masse on Saturday morning.

Three weeks before U.S. midterm elections, Trump has seized on the caravan as a political winner for Republicans.

Early Thursday he tweeted: 'I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught — and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!' Trump tweeted, adding that he blamed Democrats for what he called 'weak laws!'

Several US officials have reportedly expressed their concerns about the migrant caravan, including Donald Trump who was prompted to write several angry tweets

Marcelo Ebrard, who is set to become foreign relations secretary when President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador takes office December 1, said Trump's tweets need to be understood in the context of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections.

'The electoral process is very near, so he is making a political calculation,' Ebrard said in an interview with Radio Centro.

Trump's stance, he said, was 'what he has always presented,' adding he saw 'nothing surprising in it.'

Current Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray was also sanguine and viewed things through the lens of U.S. politics.

'Nobody likes them (Trump's comments). There's no reason to give them greater transcendence or importance,' Videgaray said from the United Nations where he sought the world body's help processing asylum requests from the migrants. 'What is important to us is the migrants, respect for human rights, their due protection, particularly the most vulnerable.'

Honduran migrants aboard a truck, head in a caravan to the United States, in the outskirts of Mazatenango, Suchitepequez departament 160 km south of Guatemala City, Thursday

Honduran migrants leave Guatemala City at sunrise Thursday, October 18, as they continue their way north toward the US. The caravan is believed to number around 4,000 people

Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the United States receive food after arriving in Tecun Uman, on the border with Mexico

The Mexican government will reportedly work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide shelters along its southern border with Central America, Mexican ambassador to the US, Geronimo Gutierrez, said on a Fox News Special Report.

The ambassador said: 'The Mexican government, and this is a very important step, requested the intervention of the UN, the Office of the High Commissioner on Refugees, to help Mexico review any asylum claims from the members of the caravan.

'That will allow us to have a process by which in our border we will make sure that of serving human rights, respecting international law, if there are legitimate claims to refugee, those can be processed in a very clear way.'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the proposal in a statement late Thursday.

'We welcome the government of Mexico's statement that they will seek cooperation with UNHCR to address immigration issues in the region, including the influx of people arriving in Mexico.

'The United States stands ready to assist the Government of Mexico and UNHCR in this effort.'

Juan Escobar, 24, said he had heard about Trump's comments but said they would not dissuade the migrants from continuing their journey.

'Only God on high can stop us,' Escobar said.