?Why Could US Military Bases in Honduras Be Closed After Trump’s Inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump earlier signaled readiness to send back millions of Latin American citizens, who illegally reside in the United States.
US troops will be expelled from Honduras if Washington carries out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants from America, Honduran President Xiomara Castro has warned.
“Faced with a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our cooperation policies with the US, especially in the military field, where for decades, without paying a cent, they maintain military bases on our territory, which in this case would lose all reason to exist in Honduras,” Castro said, in an apparent reference to the Soto Cano Airbase.
The statement was followed by Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina pointing out that the country’s president had the power to suspend a decades-old agreement with the US on the airbase without the parliament’s approval.
What is Soto Cano Airbase?
The Soto Cano Airbase, which was originally built by the US in the 1980s to help contain what Washington at the time said was the Communist threat in the region. The base currently hosts more than 1,000 American military and civilian personnel.
How Did the US React?
Brian Hughes, a spoksman for the Trump transition team, responded by saying that the Trump administration “looks forward” to engaging its Latin American partners to ensure US southern border is secure and “illegal immigrants can be returned to their country of origin.”
Did Trump Outline Concrete Plan on Migrants’ Deportation?
Trump earlier promised that he would swiftly deport undocumented immigrants from the US when he took office on January 20, with his transition team, though, declining to elaborate on concrete plans. The US President-elect deported about 1.5 million illegal migrants during his first term.