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WASHINGTON — <\/span>Three years after Honduras parted ways with Taiwan and forged diplomatic ties with China in hope of economic gain<\/a>, shrimp farmers in the Central American country are in revolt.<\/p>\n Their sales to Taiwan fell to a mere $16 million in 2025, down from more than $100 million in 2022, and the Chinese didn\u2019t fill the void as hoped.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were deceived,\u201d said Javier Amador, executive director of the National Aquaculture Association of Honduras, as he described the promises from former President Xiomara Castro of better opportunities with China when she severed ties with Taiwan<\/a> and opened an embassy in Beijing in 2023.<\/p>\n Nasry Asfura,<\/a> who was elected president with the backing of President Donald Trump and sworn into office in January, has ordered a review of agreements between Tegucigalpa and Beijing. This has fueled expectations that Honduras will distance itself from China, in line with a Trump administration campaign to reduce Chinese influence and economic clout in Latin America. <\/p>\n Asfura is expected to join other regional leaders for a security summit<\/a> Trump is hosting at his golf course near Miami on Saturday. <\/p>\n \u201cHonduras is probably the most likely country in the world right now to switch diplomatic recognition back to Taiwan,\u201d said Francisco Urdinez, an associate professor at the Political Science Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. \u201cPresident Asfura campaigned on it, he met Trump at Mar-a-Lago within days of taking office, and his vice president has confirmed the government\u2019s intention.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s not as simple as flipping a switch,\u201d he said, noting that Honduras has signed more than a dozen agreements with China since 2023.<\/p>\n China and Taiwan were both diplomatic in responding to questions about a potential shift in allegiance.<\/p>\n Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Honduras has better prospects for its long-term development since establishing diplomatic ties with China and both countries have \u201creaped fruitful cooperation outcomes in various fields.\u201d<\/p>\n The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, the island’s de-facto embassy in Washington, said Taiwan will continue to advance relations with Honduras “in an open and pragmatic manner, without preconditions, and on the basis of equality and reciprocity.\u201d<\/p>\n The Honduras government has not responded to a request for comment. <\/p>\n Latin America’s ties with Taiwan have gained attention because they have become a barometer of the power balance between the world\u2019s two largest economies.<\/p>\n Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory, while Washington, despite its lack of formal ties with Taiwan, is the island\u2019s strongest partner and has vowed to help Taiwan keep its formal allies, seen as necessary for the island to eke out a legitimate space on the global stage. <\/p>\n Of the 12 governments that still recognize Taiwan’s statehood, seven are in Latin America, including Guatemala, Paraguay and five in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n