According to the White House, US Vice President Mike Pence has reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to support the countries of the Central American North Triangle.
On Thursday morning Pence met Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernández, to reviewed efforts to fight organized crime and strengthen security under the plan called Alliance for Prosperity, which also benefits Guatemala and El Salvador.
The vice president pledged to maintain a close relationship with Honduras as part of the overall commitment of the current administration to the Northern Triangle of Central America,”
said Pence’s office in an official statement.
Conceived during former President Barack Obama’s administration, the Prosperity Alliance seeks to rekindle the economy of the three countries and attack violence to contain migration.
Earlier that day, Hernández had met with US Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) John Kelly to discuss security cooperation.
Kelly and Hernández signed an agreement to share information on civil aviation, an understanding that
will increase the ability of the Honduran government to identify criminals and potential terrorists”
who want to enter their territory, according to the DHS.
They also discussed legislation for the extradition of convicts to US territory, a particularly sensitive issue on the bilateral agenda.
The New York Public Prosecutor’s Office concluded that former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo protected drug traffickers with the help of his son Fabio, and this could open the door for an extradition request.
Fabio Lobo was captured by the DEA in Haiti in May of 2015 and has since been imprisoned in the United States.
One of the witnesses to the case -the former leader of Los Cachiros, Leonel Rivera- involved former President Lobo and the brother of current President Hernández, Legislator Antonio Hernández, among several others. They all deny the accusations.