Guatemala City: Guatemalan police today detained 50 migrants en route to the United States who said they were from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Police spokesman Jorge Aguilar told reporters that the migrants were stopped at a station where buses headed to the Mexican border depart from.
The detainees were transferred to migration authorities for repatriation procedures, Aguilar said.
The day before, police detained another 18 migrants who said they were African, without providing specific nationalities. Last Wednesday police arrested another 23 migrants from the DRC.
The International Organization for Migration recently has said many Haitians passing through Central America are currently trying to pass themselves off as DRC nationals, in hopes it will boost their chances for US asylum.
Migration statistics indicate that some 1,000 Africans have been intercepted in Guatemala this year, compared to just 13 in 2015.