Repatriation

Marina Suyapa Regalado, a Honduran from Lepaera, Lempira, who was nearing the end of cancer treatment, drowned in Ohio on July 19 along with three other Hondurans; her parents are appealing for help to repatriate her body for burial at home.

Four Hondurans drowned in Ohio's Scioto River while attempting to rescue a Salvadoran man in distress; Honduras's Foreign Ministry has begun repatriation procedures for the bodies, and surviving children are in U.S. protective custody pending return to Honduras.

The president of Olanchanos Unidos foundation says the Foreign Ministry takes up to five months to repatriate Hondurans who die abroad, and urges faster action on humanitarian grounds; funeral homes have offered credit to help.

Arnold Alexander Ávila Guardado, 21, drowned in a river near Austin, Texas, after a sudden surge in water level swept him away while he was swimming with friends; his family is seeking funds to repatriate his body to Honduras.

Honduras has 162 pending requests to repatriate the bodies of Hondurans who died overseas, with the Foreign Ministry offering financial aid to families who cannot afford repatriation costs and working through legal procedures that vary by circumstance of death.