US Renews Travel Advisory For Americans In Honduras Due To Violent Crime - State Dept.

Muhammad Irfan Published June 25, 2019 | 02:40 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2019) The United States had renewed a June notice urging Americans to reconsider plans to visit Honduras due to the prevalence of violent crime such as homicide and armed robbery, the US Department of State said in a press release.

"Violent gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, rape, and narcotics and human trafficking, is widespread," the release said on Monday. "Local police and emergency services lack sufficient resources to respond effectively to serious crime."

The State Department issued its previous warning in June, the release noted.

The release singled out the isolated Gracias a Dios province in eastern Honduras as an especially dangerous place, with high levels of criminal activity, drug trafficking and a scarcity of police and military forces.

Violence in Honduras and neighboring Central American nations is cited as a key reason for a surge of migrants seeking political asylum in the United States, with officials predicting more than 1 million Central Americans will illegally cross the US-Mexican border this year.