Guatemala Deploys Troops to Stop Migrants Heading to U.S. Border

SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS - JANUARY 15: Honduran migrants walk through a police checkpoint on their way to the Honduras-Guatemala border on January 15, 2021 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The caravan plans to walk across Guatemala and Mexico to eventually reach the United States. Central Americans expect to receive asylum and most Hondurans decided to migrate after being hit by recent hurricanes Eta and Iota. Honduras recently asked to U.S. to extend their Temporary Protected Status. (Photo by Milo Espinoza/Getty Images)

(Bloomberg) -- Guatemalan troops, police and health workers are setting up 16 checkpoints across the country to try to detect migrants traveling to the U.S. border from Honduras.

Migrants entering Guatemala must present proof of a negative Covid-19 test and a valid passport or ID, the nation’s National Immigration Institute said in a statement Thursday. Guatemalan authorities returned several migrants to Honduras this morning who entered at illegal crossing points.

Thousands of Hondurans left the country this week in the first migrant caravan of 2021, according to local media, after the pandemic and two hurricanes devastated the economy. The flows will pose an early test for Joe Biden after he’s sworn in as U.S. president on Jan. 20.