The Guatemalan authorities have said they detained more than twenty Asian immigrants off the country's Pacific Coast.

The authorities said the immigrants, reported to be Chinese, were left in a small boat.

Early this month the bodies of thirteen Asian immigrants, who tried to get into Guatemala, were washed up the Pacific coast.

Ten other immigrants were later detained in Guatemalan territory.

There have been suggestions in the Guatemalan press that the country may be becoming an entry point for immigrants trying to reach the United States.