Extortion and Sexual Violence: Womens Unspoken Suffering, Loan Sharking Grows in Costa Rica by Piggybacking on Drug Trafficking, Extortion of Guatemalas Red Buses: Where Gang and Elite Criminal Interests Meet, The Lucky Kingpin: How Chepe Diablo Has (So Far) Ridiculed Justice, Guatemala's Mafia State and the Case of Mauricio Lpez Bonilla, University Deans and Guatemalas Convoluted Road to a New Attorney General, GameChangers 2022: Drug Bonanza Amid Prohibition Challenges in 2023, Honduras' State of Exception May Set Worrying Precedent, Why Money Launderers in Honduras May Be Getting Away With It, Military Arsenals Provide Convenient Source of Weapons for Latin American Gangs, Extortion in Northern Triangle Worth Over $1 Billion Annually: Report, Latin American Leaders Voice Security Concerns At United Nations General Assembly. Nope. It also documented widespread mistreatment of people detained and arrested during the protests. A new country, a new contract, a new piece of plastic booooring. A study by the National Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) placed the country as the most violent territory in Central America, with a homicide rate of 38.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. Public buildings, transportation, and information and communication services open to the public are not fully accessible to people with disabilities. Marred by corruption and abuse, the judiciary and police remain largely ineffective. But if youre thinking about it, here are some tips. These are the safest islands: Once you get off the ferry in Utila you have officially entered an alternate reality. Is Honduras safe for solo female travelers? A collection of moments during and after Barack Obama's presidency. Well be answering super important questions including How safe is Honduras right now? and Is it safe to live in Honduras? We also give loads of tips for solo travelers and families. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. However, whilst its quite dangerous, the government is promoting tourism in Honduras. San Pedro Sula is the most dangerous city, not just in Honduras, but in the whole world. ; Children and Adolescents - Honduras has the highest youth homicide rate in the world. We get it. Some are deprived of full legal capacity and are institutionalized in different settings, including psychiatric hospitals. Visiting Honduras right now is as safe as it ever was:not very. Not really. However, More than2 million touristsvisited in 2017. As of August 2020, more than 21,000 people were detained in prisons with capacity for just under 11,000. This Central American country actually has one of the highest murder rates in the world. On 24 November, Hondurass leftwing president, Xiomara Castro, declared war on extortion a very real problem that causes economic stagnation, fuels violence and forces countless Hondurans to flee the country. Already vulnerable people in Honduras live in an evolving humanitarian crisis, says IRC protection coordinator Zuleyma Chahin. Its just better to have a local driver drive you around. Other ways to share As of September 2020, the US had yet to begin deporting any third country nationals to Honduras under the agreement. If we didnt have Bukeles example, we could probably look for some control and security responses based on strengthening institutions.. There is limited data on the effectiveness of the program in Honduras. Gangsplay a big part of life here. Gang violence is a big issue in Honduras. So when it comes to safetyin Honduras, we think youllgenerallybe fine, especially in the Bay Islands. Despite recent educational advances, around a third of children aged 3-17 did not attend school in 2018, according to the most recent survey by the National Statistics Institute. The Newton Police Department has arrested three escaped inmates from Scott County, according to Newton police chief, Randy Patrick. Iris Argentina lvarez of the Cerro Escondido peasant cooperative, which has been working to recover land currently owned by a sugar company, was killed and three people were injured during a violent and allegedly illegal eviction in Choluteca in April 2020. Do your own research. Sign in How Gangs Control Honduras VICE News 8.42M subscribers. Heres how to not get ill whilst trying local delights. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. Corruption, crime, and gang activity inhibits the ability to conduct business activities freely and dissuades entrepreneurs from establishing new businesses. Sign up for our newsletter and get the best travel tips delivered right to your inbox. Violence in Honduras is usually attributed to gangs and organised crime, but US federal prosecutors have implicated high-level politicians, the military and police in cocaine trafficking to the US . Lanza said that 50 drivers have been killed so far in 2022, and a total of 2,500 have been killed over the last 15 years. Theres more nature here than you can shake a stick at. Journalists, environmental activists, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). Get a quote below or read our in-depth review! We also provide critical, up-to-date information and support from trained moderators through CuntaNos, a digital platform that is part of the Global Signpost project. Get your accommodation to either recommenda good company or just book one for you. This rule especially goes at night. The government has set up roadblocks, deployed security forces, and used violence to prevent people from leaving the country. When the time came, the police departed in caravans to gang-infested neighbourhoods throughout the capital city, as part of an effort to combat an apparent rise in extortion. Patrick said the inmates were captured about 7:45 AM in downtown Newton. Honduras has the misfortune of being situated between South American cocaine production and U.S. drug consumption. But before arriving, the car stopped and the caravan split. We need to address these immediate needs too.. It has experienced one of the world's highest homicide rates, with multiple forms of violence linked to drug trafficking groups. It was focused on the security, or lack of security in Honduras. Political power brokers also have ties to drug smuggling and have even run trafficking operations themselves. It was Zelaya's intention to seek a second term that coup leaders. After a 2019 wave of gang violence that killed 37 detainees, President Hernndez declared a state of emergency and put prisons under military control. You basically pay for safety, but better safe than sorry wed say. But the thing iswomen DO travel alone to Honduras. And theyre generally safe. You can too. That said, the development that has taken place has not totally sucked the island dry of its charm. Couple that with 470 miles of (mainly) Caribbean coastline, a load of beaches and tropical islands, as well asMayan ruinsand you got yourself adream destination. Youll be able to travel around here with relative ease. In 2014, the United Nations reported that 95 percent of cases of sexual violence and femicide in Honduras were never even investigated. Wed say only experienced, intrepid travelers should tackle this one alone. Despite some similarities, the security situation in El Salvador is different from Honduras, which has a much larger territory, higher population, greater poverty and a more diverse set of criminal groups. Extortion in Latin America continues to bring in fortunes for criminal gangs. Here are three reasons the International Rescue Committees Emergency Watchlist ranks Honduras among 20 countries most at risk of worsening humanitarian crisis in 2022. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. Reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime. Meanwhile, as Guatemalas electoral season heats up ahead of next years presidential election, some candidates have signaled that if elected, they would also implement hardline policies. Sometimes the drivers are assaulted. El Salvador and Honduras have been condemned by the "civilized" world. La Ceibaon the northern coast, with mountains, jungles, and beaches, is a chilled and adventurous area to explore. In these demonstrations, more than 1,500 were arrested and30 people were killed. In November 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights heard the case of Vicky Hernndez, a trans woman allegedly extrajudicially executed in 2009. Journalists, environmental activists,lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals,and people with disabilities are among the groups targeted forviolence. if youre visiting Honduras, you will have to avoid this city completely. Its a massive issue. We hope these measures work and remain in place.. Copyright International Rescue Committee, 2023. crises in 2022 in Latin America and the Caribbean, top 10 crises the world cant ignore in 2022, calling for stronger international cooperation, 2.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid, 36% of funding received for 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan, 937,000 disaster-induced displacements in 2020, 3.3 million people facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity in 2022. He estimated the companies and drivers have paid an average of about $10 million per month to the gangs in order to operate. There is no such thing as a perfect safety guide, and this article is no different. Download Historical Data. FILE PHOTO: A member of Honduras' DIPAMPCO (Police Anti Maras and Gangs Against Organised Crime Directorate) stands guard as other DIPAMPCO members frisk people while doing rounds in a low-income neighbourhood, after President Xiomara Castro declared a national security emergency implementing a new plan to combat a rising number of cases of extortion by violent criminal groups operating across the country, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras November 26, 2022. Theyre run by private companies, obviously, and aremore expensivethan public buses. Share this via Telegram TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. While Honduras is not seeing the political armed conflict common in most Watchlist countries this year, criminal gang violence is widespread. Juan Orlando Hernndez extolled his achievements as. In September, the OHCHR and IACHR expressed concern regarding the continued spread of the virus in prisons. Its prettyextreme. In 2018, the government created a special force to fight gangs (Fuerza Nacional Anti Maras y pandillas). Violence has long ruled here. By 2020 they want an additional milliontourists annually. The Inescapable Prison of Barrio 18 in Honduras, Death, Taxes, and Extortion: Why Latin American Companies Keep Paying Up, Timber Mafias - Preying on Latin Americas Forests, State and Community Responses to Extortion, A Mayor and a Wave of Narco Violence on Guatemala's Pacific, One Party, Many Crimes: The Case of Honduras National Party, Drug Trafficking and Political Protection in Paraguay: The Case of Cucho Cabaa, How Colombia Regulators Became Purveyors of Illegal Wood, The Logging Barons of Catacamas, Honduras, How Drug Cartels Moved into Illegal Logging in Mexico, Municipalities Fight Back in Guatemalas Gang-Preyed Upon Neighborhoods, How the Private Sector Helped Counter Rural Extortion in El Salvador. In the streets where insecurity lurks around each corner, many ordinary Hondurans want to see extreme measures human rights be damned and believe that anything short of that is not enough. As dusk fell, a helicopter hovered menacingly over a dusty football field where several hundred police officers stood in formation, waiting for the clock to strike six and the imposition of a state of exception partially suspending constitutional guarantees in Honduras.
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