Honduran police have detained five Syrian men attempting to make their way to the United States with stolen Greek passports, reported Reuters.
The Syrians were arrested after they flew into the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa and failed to make it through airport security checks late Tuesday night, according to police spokesman Anibal Baca.
"Five Syrian citizens have been detained and will be taken to our offices to be investigated because it is suspected they are carrying false documents, passports stolen in Greece," Baca said.
The men flew from Syria to Lebanon, then to Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica and Honduras, according to AFP.
Greek authorities tipped off the Hondurans about the men's voyage, but it is not clear why the Greeks had been tracking the men.
Greek diplomats visited the airport and confirmed that none of the men spoke any Greek, Baca said. "Those are not their real names, we are confirming their identities," Baca told La Prensa. Interpol is also reportedly involved in the investigation.
Baca added that he suspected the men planned to make their way to the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, and then proceed overland through Guatemala and Mexico and on to the United States, reported CNN.
"We are not saying they are terrorists," Baca said. "They are being investigated for using false passports. It could be they are fleeing war. That is being investigated."
The arrests come less than a week after coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris killed 129 people and injured more than 350 more. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. One of the gunmen seems to have entered Europe through a Greek island by using a Syrian passport and disguising himself as a refugee, according to USA Today.
With U.S. President Obama planning to admit 10,000 more Syrian refugees to the U.S. over the next year, some lawmakers do not believe the current refugee vetting process is thorough enough and are scrambling to find a fool proof method of certifying that the refugees have no ties to terrorism.
A Republican-crafted bill that would force the FBI and Homeland Security to sign off on each individual refugee is expected to go up for vote in the House on Thursday, however, Obama promised he would veto the measure once it reaches his desk, according to The Washington Times.
"The administration's highest priority is to ensure the safety and security of the American people," the White House said in its veto threat. "That is why refugees of all nationalities, including Syrians and Iraqis, considered for admission to the United States undergo the most rigorous and thorough security screening of anyone admitted into the United States. This legislation would introduce unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist some of the most vulnerable people in the world, many of whom are victims of terrorism, and would undermine our partners in the Middle East and Europe in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis."
