Hundreds of Central American migrants have continued their march towards the United States, crossing from Honduras into Guatemala, as Donald Trump again demanded the construction of a border wall he claims would keep such groups out.

“We’re leaving because there’s no work here in Honduras,” said Carlos Maldonado, a 35-year-old from the city of La Ceiba, as he led a 200-strong column of migrants towards the Guatemalan border while waving his country’s blue and white flag in the air.

Maldonado is a member of the latest “migrant caravan” which set off from the notoriously violent Honduran city of San Pedro Sula at the start of this week and is expected to enter southern Mexico this weekend before heading north to the United States.

He said not all of the caravan’s estimated 1,500-2,000 members planned to reach “El Norte”. “We don’t know what our destination is yet. Some are going to stay in Mexico and others are heading for the United States,” he said.

Most of those interviewed by the Guardian this week, however, said they were set on entering the US.

Julio Oyuela, 42, said he was heading for New Orleans with his brother and cousin.

Hundreds of Central American migrants have continued their march towards the United States, crossing from Honduras into Guatemala. Photograph: Tom Phillips/The Guardian

“There are no opportunities for anyone here,” Oyuela complained as he queued to leave Hondruas under the gaze of dozens of police officers equipped with riot shields, helmets and assault rifles.

“Just look at how many young people are leaving,” Oyuela added, pointing to the crowd of migrants around him, made up largely of exhausted-looking young men and families who had spent the last 36 hours trekking through the mountains of western Honduras.

As the caravan’s stragglers hiked the final stretch to the Guatemalan border, Donald Trump returned to Twitter to muse about the “nice, powerful wall” he has claimed would keep such people out and solve what he alleges is a crisis on the US-Mexico border.

“The are now 77 major or significant Walls built around the world, with 45 countries planning or building walls. Over 800 miles of Walls have been built in Europe since only 2015. They have all been recognised as close to 100% successful,” Trump claimed, concluding: “Stop the crime at our Southern Border!”

Pablo García, a 38-year-old migrant who said he had spent most of his life living in the US, said caravan members were crystal clear how Trump felt about them. “He doesn’t like Hispanic people,” he said in heavily-accented American English, before adding: “I don’t like him … I like Bill Clinton – and John Kennedy.”

Bartolo Fuentes, a Honduran activist and journalist who was at the border crossing on Wednesday afternoon, said he was worried that under pressure from Washington, his government would implement tougher border measures aimed at making life more difficult for caravans heading north.

Migrants queue to leave Honduras under the gaze of dozens of police officers equipped with riot shields, helmets and assault rifles. Photograph: Tom Phillips/The Guardian

On Tuesday, he claimed three buses containing perhaps 200 mostly young migrants had been sent back from the border by police. “What they want to do is stop the flow and show to the US government: ‘Look, we are doing something.’”

But Fuentes – who was accused but strenuously denies leading last October’s headline-making caravan – said such tactics would only expose Central American migrants to greater dangers by forcing them to use illegal crossings where they might face violence or be robbed. “People are leaving [Honduras] every single day and if they don’t allow people like this, they will go hidden. And that’s worse.”

As he prepared to say bid farewell to his homeland on Wednesday afternoon, Christian Sori, a 20-year-old migrant, admitted he was not sure where he would end up, nor what he would do.

But like thousands of fellow northbound travellers, he was determined to build a new life. “I’m going wherever God takes me.”