WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Honduras President Juan Hernandez wants the United States to invest billions of dollars to help curb the flow of illegal migrants from Central America, and said it will take much longer to stem the crisis without Washington’s help.
“If we have to do it alone, it will take us more time. But if we can do it together, it can be quicker and better for everyone,” he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
Hernandez was in Washington for an Inter-American Development Bank meeting with his counterparts from Guatemala and El Salvador as well as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on ways to overcome violence and poverty largely fueling the exodus from their countries.
The arrival of tens of thousands of illegal migrants from the three countries – including more than 60,000 children traveling without parents – caused widespread alarm in the United States, and a political problem for President Barack Obama as he pushed for sweeping immigration reforms.
Struggling to stop the flow, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador presented U.S. officials with an ambitious development plan in September to improve their economies through infrastructure investments.
Guatemala has said it is seeking $10 billion – some $2 billion a year for five years – toward the effort, chiefly from the United States.
Honduras would like that much or more, Hernandez said.
