United States halts issue of visas to Hondurans

TEGUCIGALPA, June 18 (Reuters) The United States has stopped issuing travel visas to Hondurans indefinitely, saying lax rules in the Central American nation let third-country nationals obtain local passports used for travel to America.

The US Embassy in Honduras said yesterday it had ordered the issue of all new visas to Hondurans suspended. This week, local authorities arrested two Cameroon citizens trying to obtain Honduran passports using fake identity documents.

''The controls are not sufficient for us, and it is our responsibility to protect the United States,'' the embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission James Willard told local radio.

Central America is seen as a relatively easy route to the United States by some African and Asian immigrants.

Last week, Honduras warned it had become a new route for Cuban immigrants bound for the United States, with an increasing number washing up on the Caribbean coast on their way to the U.S. border.

The embassy said in a statement it was concerned about the ease with which people were able to obtain Honduran birth and marriage certificates, identity cards and passports.

''Since these documents have been used to enter the United States, this problem continues to be a matter of national security for the United States of America,'' it said.

Honduran authorities said they would take action to purge possibly corrupt elements from the government bodies that issue identity documents.

Foreign Minister Milton Jimenez said local and international organized crime groups were involved in the trade of Honduran passports and identity documents.

''These are mafias with huge amounts of money, with connections in powerful sectors of the country. They have made people trafficking into a very profitable business,'' he told reporters.

In 2005, former Director of Migration Roman Romero was fired for allegedly issuing visas illegally to Chinese citizens.

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