Mexico vows to help Honduras via tree-planting program

MEXICO CITY – The presidents of Honduras and Mexico signed a letter of intent Saturday for cooperating on ways to stem the tide of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.

Honduras’ President Juan Orlando Hernandez, right, attends a ceremony where trees were planted as part of the Mexican program “Sembrando Vida,” with Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on a military base in Minatitlan, Mexico, Saturday, July 27, 2019. Lopez Obrador said Saturday that Honduras will adopt a Mexican program to put people to work planting trees and also will copy a Mexican program which pays a small monthly stipend to young people while they are studying, in an effort to help stem the tide of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Honduras will adopt a Mexican program to put people to work planting trees and also will copy a Mexican program which pays a small monthly stipend to young people while they are studying.

The Mexican leader says that “we are going to help Honduras as much as we can.” He didn’t give any details on how the initiatives would be funded.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez called on wealthier nations to help create economic opportunities in Central America and southern Mexico so as to deter migration. /gsg