The security forces of Honduras On April 28, they arrested three people who were illegally transporting 17 migrants from Cuba in two vans to the border with Guatemala on their way to the United States, EFE reported.
Those arrested – two men and a woman, all Hondurans – were arrested in the municipality of Namasigüe in the southern department of Choluteca, on the border with Nicaragua, Honduran police said.
During an inspection of the two vehicles, authorities found 17 Cuban citizens who had entered the Central American country illegally, he added.
The operation was attended by agents from the Transnational Criminal Investigation Unit, which reports to the Police Directorate of Investigations, the National Directorate of Border Police Services and the Special Tactical Operations Group, the institution said.
The detainees, aged between 24 and 36, whose names have not been released, are being charged with the crime illegal traffic of people to the detriment of the security of the Honduran state and the freedom of the people, Honduran police said.
The Cubans have been sent to the National Migration Institute (INM) in Choluteca, where they can request an immigration appointment to expedite their legal exit from the country.
The appointment is to apply a fine of more than $200 that migrants have to pay for entering Honduras illegally because of “blind spots” by traffickers.
“The purpose of the police authorities is to combat and combat the crime of trafficking in human beings in its various forms, irregular transit and related crimes,” the National Police stressed.
In recent decades, Honduras has become a transit point for migrants, particularly Cubans and Africans, crossing Central American countries to reach the United States, whose authorities have increased security at the border with Mexico in recent years.
According to the INM, more than 24,000 migrants have been arrested in Honduras so far in 2022 for entering the country illegally to reach the United States.