(AFP) – Kristi Noem visited Honduras in her new role as US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for his “Shield of the Americas” regional crime-fighting initiative, after being fired from her position as homeland security chief. The 54-year-old made the trip on Sunday and met with Honduras’s new right-wing president, Nasry Asfura, who spoke to the press afterward.
A former congresswoman and governor of South Dakota, Noem was one of the leading faces of Trump’s controversial immigration crackdown since his return to power in January 2025. Trump announced earlier this month that she would be removed from her previous role and take up the position of special envoy to the “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition with 17 Latin American nations aimed at countering cartels.
According to multiple media reports, Trump was upset with Noem’s handling of the mass immigration crackdown in Minnesota, during which federal immigration agents shot dead two Americans. “It was a meeting…with a very positive reception,” Asfura said after the talks at the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa.
Honduras is one of the most violent countries in Central America, with gangs including Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18—designated as terrorist organizations by Washington—in operation. Issues including security and migration were discussed to “work together and build a more prosperous America,” Asfura said.
Both parties agreed on “strengthening cybersecurity and waging a full-scale fight against drug trafficking and organized crime,” as well as bolstering the Honduran police and military “through specialized technical assistance,” a Honduran government statement said. Trump backed Asfura in his election late last year and threatened US funding if he did not win, raising accusations of foreign meddling. Nasfura’s rise to power comes amid a series of right-wing wins in Latin America on promises of taking a firm approach to crime.
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