Honduras to charge five Syrians traveling with false passports

Honduran authorities are set to charge five Syrians for traveling with false travel documents, the El Heraldo daily reported Friday.

The five Syrians -- four college students and an engineer -- were arrested Wednesday for trying to enter the country with stolen Greek passports. They are expected to be tried at a later date and may face three to nine years in prison if sentenced.

The men, aged from 21 to 30, arrived in Honduras from Brazil and were initially detained at the Toncontin International Airport here for failing to have gotten a yellow fever vaccine which is required by Honduras, according to Public Ministry spokesman Yuri Mora.

Authorities learned their passports were stolen ones only after consulting with Interpol, the daily said.

Officials said the men have no prior criminal records and ruled out the possibility they belong to a terrorist group.

The La Tribuna daily reported the "Syrians come from respected families," and were traveling with Greek passports because Greeks do not need a visa to get into Honduras.

According to police spokesman Anibal Baca, the men left Syria to travel to Lebanon, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina and Costa Rica before landing in Honduras, and they had hoped to get to the United States.

In 2014, Honduras detained 10,356 foreign nationals passing through the country illegally. So far this year, it has detained over 16,000 migrants from Somalia, Ghana, Iran, Nepal, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Senegal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Guinea and Latin American countries. Endi