Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Honduras as she leads a delegation to attend the inauguration of President-elect Xiomara Castro.
The White House is hoping that new leadership in Honduras will alleviate some of the pressures of migration coming from that region, NPR reported. But Castro’s history and political stance may be problematic, not only in her own leadership of Honduras, but also in a relationship with the U.S.
“The Vice President’s visit will further the commitment she and President-elect Castro made during their December 10 phone call to deepen the partnership between the United States and Honduras and work together to advance economic growth, combat corruption, and address the root causes of migration,” Sabrina Singh, the deputy press secretary for the vice president, said in a statement, as CNN reported.
There are many saying that a good relationship with Honduras could help address the root causes of immigration. Since many migrants are from South and Central America and merely pass through Mexico to the U.S., some have said that it’s key to partner with nations like Honduras to really address the issue.
“I think it’s an opportunity that we haven’t seen in Honduras in quite some time. And it’s an opportunity in which the United States has to use every tool at its disposal to try to move forward, given the importance of addressing these issues for the US’s own interests,” Jason Marczak, the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, told CNN.
However, the president-elect has some nefarious connections that may prove to be challenges in her presidency.
Castro — the first woman to ever be elected president in Honduras — is the first person to win on a socialist platform, Fox News reported.
She ran on promises to change Honduras by rooting out corruption in the government and mitigating organized crime, which has plagued Honduras for years, as CNN reported.
Castro was actually previously the first lady of Honduras, but then her husband was ousted in a coup 12 years ago, as CNN reported.
Her husband, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted from the presidency after trying to recreate the policies from Venezuelan socialist President Hugo Chávez. He also had an alliance with Fidel Castro, Fox News reported.
“The former Honduran president also claimed that he was being tortured by Israeli mercenaries via high-frequency radiation,” Fox reported.
Castro’s vice president also has an unsavory history and profile.
First Vice President-elect Salvador Nasralla has a past of making unsavory comments about Jews and Israel, Fox News reported.
In 2020, Nasralla said outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernández’s “boss is the government of Israel.” He also said that Jews controlled the supply of money around the globe.
Nasralla’s wife also had to apologize to the Latin American Jewish Congress after she commented in an interview that “Hitler was a great leader.”
Despite the questionable ties that President-elect Castro has and the anti-Semitic comments that her running mate has made in the past, Harris will attend her inauguration.
“[T]he administration appears set on making inroads with the new leader despite whatever political upheaval may exist,” CNN reported.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
