Honduras’s president threatened to push the U.S. navy out of a base it constructed a long time in the past within the Central American nation ought to President-elect Donald J. Trump perform mass deportations of undocumented immigrants from america.
The response by President Xiomara Castro of Honduras, in an deal with broadcast on tv and radio on Wednesday, was the primary concrete pushback by a frontrunner within the area to Mr. Trump’s plan to ship again tens of millions of Latin Americans dwelling in america.
The menace got here as Ms. Castro and Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, additionally known as a gathering of overseas ministers later this month to deal with the deportation problem.
“Confronted with a hostile perspective of mass expulsion of our brothers, we must contemplate a change in our insurance policies of cooperation with america, particularly within the navy area,” Ms. Castro stated.
“With out paying a cent for many years,” she added, “they preserve navy bases in our territory, which on this case would lose all motive to exist in Honduras.”
Honduras’ overseas minister, Enrique Reina, stated afterward in a radio interview that Honduras’s chief had the facility to droop with out the approval of the nation’s Congress a decades-old settlement with america that allowed it to construct the Soto Cano air base and function America’s largest navy job pressure in Central America from there.
The transfer would current grave dangers for the small nation, which is determined by america as its largest buying and selling accomplice and a supply of humanitarian help.
Will Freeman, a fellow in Latin America research on the Council on Overseas Relations in New York, stated of the Honduran president’s assertion: “I’m stunned a bit by the boldness of it.”
A spokesman for the Trump transition staff, Brian Hughes, responding to Ms. Castro’s warning, stated in an announcement, “The Trump administration seems to be ahead to participating our Latin American companions to make sure our southern border is safe and unlawful immigrants may be returned to their nation of origin.”
Mr. Trump promised to swiftly deport undocumented immigrants when he took workplace, however his transition staff has not shared any concrete plans, leaving Latin American governments guessing at the same time as they attempt to put together. Mr. Trump additionally vowed to slap a 25 p.c tariff on Mexico and Canada if they didn’t cease the circulation of migrants and fentanyl to america.
Most governments in Latin America, together with Mexico’s, have labored to remain on a great footing with Mr. Trump, at the same time as they’ve sought to emphasise the contributions their residents make to the American economic system, no matter their authorized standing.
This week, Ms. Sheinbaum reiterated: “We are going to proceed to display how the Mexican folks within the U.S. contribute in an important technique to the U.S. economic system. And if Mexican folks weren’t within the U.S., there could be no meals on American tables.”
The governments have additionally sought to reassure their residents in america that they’re getting ready for any large-scale expulsions. Honduras has stated it should set up cellular consulates, and Mexico created an internet software for its residents to alert consulate authorities if they’re at imminent danger of being detained.
On Friday, in an obvious shift from her earlier objective to achieve a cope with Mr. Trump to keep away from receiving such migrants, Ms. Sheinbaum additionally recommended that Mexico may absorb deportees from different international locations, at the same time as she reiterated that her administration didn’t agree with mass deportations.
“We’re going to ask america that, so far as attainable, migrants who usually are not from Mexico may be taken to their international locations of origin. And if not, we are able to collaborate by way of totally different mechanisms,” Ms. Sheinbaum stated.
“There will likely be a time to speak with the U.S. authorities if these deportations actually happen,” she added. “However right here we’re going to obtain them; we’re going to obtain them nicely, and we’ve a plan.”
Governments within the area depend on remittances from immigrants in america. They account for as a lot as 25 p.c of Honduras’s economic system. Greater than half one million undocumented Hondurans — about 5 p.c of the Honduran inhabitants — had been estimated to be dwelling in america in 2022, in keeping with the Pew Analysis Heart.
For the reason that Eighties, an American job pressure has operated out of Soto Cano, an air base owned by the Honduran authorities in Comayagua, a city about 50 miles from the capital, Tegucigalpa. It was initially constructed by america within the Eighties to assist comprise the communist menace within the area.
Soto Cano presently hosts greater than a thousand American navy and civilian personnel, a spokeswoman for the duty pressure there, Joint Activity Pressure Bravo, stated on Friday.
“We’re friends of the Honduran authorities on a Honduran base,” stated the spokeswoman, Capt. Hillary Gibson.
Whereas the duty pressure has performed a job in counternarcotics efforts, Captain Gibson stated, it has just lately targeted on catastrophe reduction and administering humanitarian help.
The USA Embassy in Honduras didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The U.S. navy maintains a presence at bases in different international locations within the area, together with in El Salvador, although these have fewer U.S. navy troops than Soto Cano.
Whereas many Hondurans celebrated Ms. Castro’s statements, some elected officers sought to distance themselves from the president. A number of members of Congress famous the necessity for dialogue with the Trump administration and identified that pushing out the U.S. navy from the bottom wouldn’t cease Mr. Trump from finishing up mass deportations.
Mr. Reina, the overseas minister, stated on Thursday that Honduras meant to remain on good phrases with america. However he stood behind the president’s statements, saying that “if mass deportations that violate the rights of migrants come about,” the nation’s leaders had “a proper to rethink” its relationship with america.
Mr. Freeman, the guy in Latin America research on the Council on Overseas Relations, stated the federal government’s posture got here as a shock as a result of whereas Ms. Castro had just lately taken what he described as a publicly confrontational strategy to america — together with shifting to finish a longstanding extradition treaty — behind closed doorways she had been identified to “play pleasant” with the U.S. ambassador, making an attempt to elicit America’s continued help.
He stated it was additionally shocking that Ms. Castro would ship such a warning earlier than Mr. Trump assumed workplace, significantly in mild of statements from Mr. Trump’s choose for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida.
Mr. Rubio had warned that Honduras underneath Ms. Castro’s authorities might turn into “the following Venezuela,” Mr. Freeman stated, the place a spiraling disaster underneath the authoritarian rule of Nicolás Maduro has led to mass migration.
“I believe it should bitter the connection, which might have already been bitter, with the Trump administration,” Mr. Freeman stated. “And I don’t see these northern Central American international locations are able to leverage a lot with the U.S. over the form of migration coverage.”
“Now Mexico,” he added, “is a very totally different story.”
The USA doesn’t have full diplomatic relations with some international locations within the area, together with Venezuela and Cuba, which have confronted harsh U.S. sanctions. Because of this, these international locations are unlikely to just accept massive numbers of deportation flights.
After Ms. Castro’s deal with, Honduras’s overseas minister introduced on social media the assembly between overseas ministers to debate mass deportations, which he stated had been known as by the leaders of Honduras and Mexico. The submit was accompanied by a photograph of Ms. Castro holding arms with Ms. Sheinbaum.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega contributed reporting.
