Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Safe for migrants? Under U.S. pressure, Honduras signed an agreement last week that will let U.S. immigration officials send asylum seekers back to Honduras if they passed through the Central American country on their way north. The pact effectively designates Honduras as a “safe third country,” even though it has one of the world’s highest murder rates and drug gangs are forcing its people to flee. More than 250,000 Hondurans have crossed the U.S. border during the past 11 months. The U.S. has potential leverage against President Juan Orlando Hernández, who agreed to the deal. He is facing allegations of corruption and has been named as a co-conspirator in a U.S. drug-trafficking case against his brother, Juan Antonio Hernández.