In the wake of the November 13 Paris attacks orchestrated by terrorists possibly linked to ISIS, Honduran authorities have reportedly arrested five Syrians intending to travel to the United States with stolen Greek passports.
The Syrians, who have now been detained and are under investigation, failed to make it past airport security checks, according to police spokesman Anibal Baca. They had allegedly traveled by air from Syria to Lebanon, then to Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica and on to Honduras.
From Honduras, they were planning to go overland through Guatemala, then Mexico and on to the United States.
While the Syrians’ purpose for traveling has yet to be confirmed, Honduran police are also considering the possibility that they may be refugees fleeing the war in their home country; however, based on reports, all five Syrians appear to be males of fighting age who had enough funding to freely fly between several countries of their choosing – not exactly archetypal “refugees.”
“We are not saying they are terrorists,” Baca said. “They are being investigated for using false passports. It could be they are fleeing war. That is being investigated.”
Since the Paris terrorist attacks and the October 31 bombing of a Russian passenger jet leaving Egypt, authorities from countries involved in the Syrian conflict have been on heightened alert for possible terrorist activities in their respective territories.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Santos Nolasco, the spokesman for Honduras’ Inter-institutional Security Force, Honduras is part of a route to the United States most often used by unauthorized migrants.
Nolasco, speaking to Yahoo News, added, “This year alone, 12,600 foreigners were detected illegally entering Honduras, almost all of them with the aim of getting to the United States.”
Nationals of Somalia, Iran, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Sri Lanka, Eritrea, Togo, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, as well as of other Latin American countries, are also currently under detention.[1]
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