TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- The Honduran government announced Wednesday that it was working with Cuba to halt a wave of migrants who have been leaving the communist-ruled island and arriving on Honduran shores.

Immigration official Carlos Sanchez said the talks with Cuba began five months ago, although he didn't give details.

Nearly 500 Cubans have arrived in Honduras in the past two years. Most ask for temporary asylum so they can later travel north to the United States.

Sanchez said Honduras was willing to receive Cubans fleeing their home country for political reasons, but that it didn't want to remain a stop on the way to the United States.

``Honduras should change its migration policies for Cubans, but it's hard because the country has signed human rights accords,'' Sanchez said.

He added that Honduras can't afford to pay for the airfare to deport the refugees.

Most Cuban migrants receive permission to stay at least 15 days in Honduras, and the majority begin looking for ways to cross into the United States, either by plane or by traveling north through Guatemala and Mexico.

Many arrive between November and January, taking advantage of good weather to cross the Caribbean Sea.

Honduras re-established diplomatic ties with Cuba in January 2001, 42 years after both countries broke off contact. Honduras still hasn't designated an ambassador to the island nation, however.

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