Honduras has signed a deal with Washington to accept migrants applying for asylum in the United States, becoming the third Central American country to do so after El Salvador and Guatemala. The deal signed Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly allows the US to deport to Honduras migrants who had passed through the country on their way to the US border.

The pact, signed during the UN General Assembly in New York, is similar to agreements signed by the US with Guatemala and El Salvador.

"Once the agreement enters into force, it will further enhance asylum and protection capacity in Honduras," according to a joint statement issued after the signing ceremony.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019