28 Cubans Captured Tying to Cross Honduras Without Documents

Honduras is part of the so-called “Central American corridor” through which thousands of undocumented immigrants try to reach US territory. (Honduran Police)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Miami, 13 September 2018 — Honduran authorities reported Wednesday the capture of 28 undocumented immigrants from Cuba who were trying to cross their country in order to reach the southern border of the United States.

In an initial police operation, 19 immigrants from Congo, 17 Cubans, 6 Haitians and three from Ghana were arrested. According to the National Inter-Agency Security Force (Fusina), the migrants’ objective was to reach the United States but they were arrested for “illegally circulating” in Honduran territory on Tuesday in the sector of Guasaule, on the border with Nicaragua.

The immigrants were taken to the National Institute of Migration’s facilities in Choluteca, in the south of the country, where they will be able to apply for a permit to cross Honduras, otherwise they will be returned to their home countries. In the case of the Cubans, the majority are able to obtain permission, according to several testimonies of immigrants collected by 14ymedio.

In Bucana, another area of Honduras bordering Nicaragua, authorities also detained another group of immigrants, including 11 Cubans.

According to official data, during 2018 the Honduran authorities have detained more than 1,400 foreigners in their territory.

The arrests of Cubans take place in the context of the second round of migratory talks held in Tegucigalpa. The Cuban authorities indicated their interest in signing a memorandum of understanding in this matter to “stimulate and guarantee the mobility of people in a regular, orderly and safe manner”. The delegation from Havana was also interested in “enhancing cooperation between both nations in the fight against irregular migration, human trafficking and migrant trafficking.”

Honduras is part of the so-called “Central American corridor” by which thousands of undocumented immigrants try to reach US territory. Despite the end of the policy of wet foot/dry foot, which granted legal status to Cubans who reached the United States border, thousands of the islanders continue to make these dangerous journeys in order to seek political asylum.

Translated by Wilfredo Díaz Echevarria

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