Honduran President-elect Donald J. Trump has threatened to evict the US military from the base it built decades ago in the Central American country if President-elect Donald J. Trump carries out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants from the United States.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro's response in a televised and radio address Wednesday was the first concrete push from a regional leader to Mr. Trump's plan to deport millions of Latin American citizens living in the United States.
The threat came as Ms Castro and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called for a meeting of foreign ministers later this month to resolve the deportation issue.
“We will have to consider changes in our policy of cooperation with the United States, especially in the military field, as we face hostility towards the mass expulsion of our brothers,” Ms. Castro said.
“For decades, without paying a cent,” he added, “they maintain military bases on our territory, in which case they will lose all reason to exist in Honduras.”
Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina said later in a radio interview The Honduran leader said he had the power to end a decades-old agreement that allowed the United States to build the Soto Cano air base and operate the largest US military task force in Central America from there without the approval of the country's Congress.
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for Trump's transition team, responded to Ms. Castro's warning by saying in a statement: “The Trump administration looks forward to engaging our Latin American partners to ensure our southern border is secure and illegal immigrants are returned. country of origin.”
When Mr. Trump took office, he promised to quickly deport undocumented immigrants, but his transition team has not shared any concrete plans, leaving Latin American governments guessing as they try to prepare. Mr. Trump also promised Get a 25 percent fee If they don't stop the flow of migrants and fentanyl to the US, to Mexico and Canada.
Most governments in Latin America, including Mexico, have tried to stay on good terms with Mr. Trump, even as they try to emphasize the contributions of their citizens to the American economy, regardless of their legal status.
This week, Ms. Sheinbaum reiterated: “We will continue to demonstrate how the Mexican people in the United States contribute in a very important way to the US economy. “If Mexicans were not in the United States, there would be no food on American tables.”
Governments have also tried to reassure their citizens living in the United States that they are preparing for any large-scale deportations. Honduras said it would set up mobile consulates, and Mexico created an online app for its citizens to alert consular authorities of the risk of arrest.
On Friday, Ms. Sheinbaum also suggested that Mexico could take in deportees from other countries — an apparent departure from the country. his former purpose to agree with Mr. Trump not to take in such migrants — even as he reiterates his administration's opposition to mass deportations.
“We will ask the United States to take as many non-Mexico migrants to their countries as possible. If not, we can cooperate through various mechanisms,” said Mrs. Sheinbaum.
“If these deportations actually happen, there will be time to talk to the U.S. government,” he said. “But we will receive them here; We will welcome them and we have a plan.”
Governments in the region rely on remittances from immigrants in the United States. They make up 25 percent of the Honduran economy. more than half a million undocumented Hondurans According to the Pew Research Center, about 5 percent of the Honduran population will live in the United States in 2022.
Since the 1980s, an American task force has been based at the Honduran government-owned Soto Cano Air Base in Comayagua, about 50 miles from the capital, Tegucigalpa. It was originally built by the United States in the 1980s to contain the communist threat in the region.
Soto Cano is currently home to over a thousand American military and civilian personnel.
“We are guests of the Honduran government at the Honduran base,” said Captain Hillary Gibson.
Capt. Gibson said that while the task force has played a role in counter-narcotics efforts, it has recently focused on disaster relief and humanitarian aid management.
The United States Embassy in Honduras did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US military maintains a presence in other countries in the region, including bases in El Salvador, although these bases have fewer US troops than Soto Cano.
While many Hondurans celebrated Ms. Castro's statements, some elected officials tried to distance themselves from the president. Several members of Congress noted the need for a dialogue with the Trump administration, noting that the withdrawal of the US military from the base will not prevent Mr. Trump from carrying out mass deportations.
Mr. Reina, the foreign minister, said Thursday that Honduras intends to remain on good terms with the United States. However, he stood behind the president's statements and said that if mass deportations that violate the rights of migrants occur, the country's leaders have the right to “rethink” their relations with the United States.
“I'm a little surprised at the boldness of it,” said Will Freeman, who studies Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, about the Honduran president's statement.
He noted that Ms. Castro had recently adopted what she described as open confrontation with the United States, including moving to end it. long-term extradition treaty – the country remained the largest trading partner. And Ms. Castro was known to “play friendly” with the US ambassador behind closed doors, as she sought continued American support, including humanitarian aid around the migration crisis.
Mr. Freeman said it was also surprising that Ms. Castro took the post before Mr. Trump took office, especially in light of the statements made by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Mr. Trump's pick for secretary of state.
Mr. Rubio had warned that under Ms. Castro's government, Honduras could become “the next Venezuela,” Mr. Freeman said, where a spiraling crisis under Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian rule has led to mass migration.
“I think it's going to sour an already bad relationship with the Trump administration,” Mr. Freeman said. “And I don't see these northern Central American countries being able to leverage much of the US on the shape of their migration policy.”
“Now Mexico,” he said, “is a completely different story.”
The United States does not have full diplomatic relations with some countries in the region, including Venezuela and Cuba, which have faced harsh US sanctions. Consequently, these countries are unlikely to receive large numbers of deportation flights.
After Mrs. Castro's speech, Honduran Foreign Minister announced meeting on social media between foreign ministers to discuss mass deportations that the leaders of Honduras and Mexico said were called for. This post was accompanied by a photo of Ms. Castro holding hands with Ms. Sheinbaum.
Emiliano Rodriguez Mega contributed to the report.