Honduras has initiated the extradition process of Eswin Mejia, an undocumented immigrant accused of killing Iowa woman Sarah Root in 2016, following a U.S. request. Mejia was arrested in Honduras after fleeing the country post-charge. Honduran officials emphasized cooperation with the Trump administration amid over 50 U.S. extradition requests since President Xiomara Castro took office. The case gained prominence during Trump’s campaign, highlighting issues of illegal immigration and crime. While Honduras has recently sought to strengthen ties with the U.S., it faces legal challenges in extraditing Mejia under local law, and he remains in custody pending further hearings.
The Honduran government announced it has initiated the extradition process for an undocumented immigrant accused of murdering a young woman in Iowa in 2016, a case that President Trump spotlighted during his initial presidential campaign.
This action to respond to a U.S. extradition request for Eswin Mejia aligns with the efforts of Honduras and other Latin American nations to showcase their commitment to collaborate with the Trump administration.
Mejia was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he collided with Sarah Root’s car at a traffic light in Omaha in January 2016. After being charged and released on bail, he fled the country.
He was captured on Thursday in a town approximately 125 miles northwest of Tegucigalpa and appeared before a Supreme Court judge on Friday, as reported by Honduran officials.
Enrique Reina, the foreign minister of Honduras, stated in an interview that the Supreme Court had mandated Mejia’s arrest, with a judge set to evaluate the extradition request from the U.S.
“This will follow a process,” Mr. Reina noted, mentioning that the Honduran government had received over 50 extradition requests from the U.S. since President Xiomara Castro’s administration began in 2022.
The White House did not reply to inquiries for comments. The State Department directed requests for comment to the Justice Department, which also did not respond.
The Trump administration has influenced countries in the region to return individuals sought by American authorities, aiming for quick wins regarding illegal immigration and crime, which are critical to Trump’s political identity.
On the day Mejia was apprehended, Mexico sent 29 high-ranking cartel operatives wanted by U.S. officials. Among them was Rafael Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who was sentenced in Mexico for orchestrating the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena. This week, discussions also took place between the Trump administration and a high-ranking Mexican delegation regarding a new security agreement.
Ricardo Zúniga, a former State Department official who served as the special envoy for Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, remarked that these concessions reflect a wider effort from Latin American nations to demonstrate their commitment to addressing criminal organizations and illegal immigration, especially amid Trump’s threats of new tariffs.
“For many governments in the region, making a deal where they provide Trump with what he seeks in exchange for autonomy is quite appealing,” Mr. Zúniga explained. “Conversely, they are apprehensive about tariffs.”
The tragedy involving Sarah Root, who was only 21 when she died, became a prominent issue for Trump in his first campaign of 2016, where he consistently highlighted his goals to combat illegal immigration and draw attention to crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Unlike Mexico, Honduras does not face immediate tariffs. However, the government has been keen to project its readiness to collaborate with the Trump administration.
Honduras was excluded from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s itinerary during his first official trip through Central America last month, signaling experts believe was a clear warning to President Castro.
Last year, Ms. Castro sought to terminate a long-standing extradition treaty with the United States, and on New Year’s Day, she threatened to remove U.S. military presence from a significant air base should Trump proceed with mass deportations.
Recently, however, the Honduran government has changed its stance.
Last week, it agreed to allow its Soto Cano air base to be utilized as a transfer point for deportation flights originating from Guantánamo. Venezuelan deportees were flown by U.S. authorities from the naval base to Honduras, where they were subsequently transferred to a flight arranged by the Venezuelan government.
Mr. Reina remarked that this indicated the strengthening relationship between Honduras and the United States.
Additionally, Honduras agreed last month to maintain the extradition treaty with the United States that Ms. Castro previously intended to end. Deputy foreign minister Tony García expressed hope that this would foster “warmer and more fluid relations” with the United States, “as it has been a contentious issue.”
On Thursday, the Honduran government revealed Mejia’s arrest via social media, stating that the “historic capture was made possible through the cooperation between President @XiomaraCastroZ’s administration and President @realDonaldTrump’s administration.”
Honduras had known about Mejia’s presence in the country for some time, according to a source familiar with the matter, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the situation. The Castro administration moved swiftly to detain him following the arrival of the U.S. extradition request, the source indicated.
There could still be domestic legal hurdles for the Honduran government in extraditing Mejia to the United States, as Honduran laws complicate the extradition of individuals charged with murder.
He will remain in custody in Honduras until his next court appearance in March, as per authorities’ announcement on Friday.
His arrest coincides with Trump’s ongoing narrative linking crime to illegal immigration, a vital aspect of his strategy to garner support for his anti-immigration policies. He has enjoyed some success, with polls in the latest campaign indicating that Americans favored Republicans over Democrats on immigration issues.
One of his early accomplishments in his second term was the passage of legislation named after a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, who was murdered last year by a migrant from Venezuela that had entered the U.S. unlawfully. The law mandates the detention of migrants who unlawfully enter the country and subsequently face arrest or charges for certain crimes.
While crimes committed by immigrants have garnered national attention, there is a longstanding history of Trump exaggerating the criminality of immigrants. A 2023 study concluded that for the past 150 years, immigrants, as a group, have been less likely to commit crimes compared to individuals born in the United States.