Vice President Harris Looks for a Fresh Start on Migration Issues in Honduras

Vice President Harris is traveling thousands of miles to Honduras on Thursday for the inauguration of new president Xiomara Castro — a sign of the importance the White House is placing on finding a willing partner to help tackle the root causes of migration from Central America.

It's rare for an American vice president to travel to Latin America for an inauguration – especially to a small country like Honduras. Harris has the complex job of tackling the issues that have spurred growing numbers of people to leave Central America for the U.S. southern border, seeking safety and economic opportunity…

But just last week, the State Department slammed the Giammattei government for going after a judge who has exposed bribery and corruption.

A new relationship with Castro represents an opportunity to change the dynamic in the region, said Eric Farnsworth, a former state department official now at the Council of the Americas.

But he noted that in the past, other Latin American leaders have been elected on pledges to root out corruption and fell short.

Castro has already suffered a major setback: a split in her party led to a divided congress that will make it harder to carry out promised reforms.

"There's a lot of expectation in terms of what the relationship will lead to and where it is right now — but we have to maintain realism, too," Farnsworth said. "The issues are really difficult. They're going to take a sustained effort and a longer timeframe to really address," he said…

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