Honduran President Xiomara Castro issued threats to remove United States military bases from Honduras if President-elect Donald Trump proceeds with plans for mass deportations of Hondurans when he takes office on January 20.
President Castro added that they would be compelled to reassess their policies of cooperation with the United States, particularly in the military sphere, where they have maintained bases on their erritory without contributing for decades.
The United States operates the Palmerola base in Comayagua, central Honduras, which was established in the 1980s to combat communist movements in the region.
President Castro expressed hope that the incoming US administration, led by the democratically elected Donald Trump, would adopt a more constructive and amicable approach, refraining from imposing punitive measures against Honduran migrants. She emphasised their significant contributions to the US economy.
As president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Castro announced plans to convene a meeting of foreign ministers in January alongside Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to address the pressing issue of migration.
According to Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Tony García, approximately 250,000 Hondurans face deportation from the United States by 2025, a situation for which Honduras is ill-prepared. Many migrants from Mexico and other nations are in similar predicaments, García and other sources have noted.
Nearly two million Hondurans currently reside in the United States, most of whom are undocumented. Their remittances constitute over 25% of Honduras’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In August, President Castro annulled an extradition treaty with the United States, citing concerns that it could be used to orchestrate a coup d’état similar to the 2009 overthrow of her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya.
The treaty, in effect since 1912 and set to expire in February, has facilitated the extradition of around fifty drug trafficking suspects from Honduras to the United States since 2014.
