That measure has proved popular among the public in El Salvador, and has resulted in the arrest of more than 56,000 people for alleged gang ties. 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. In fact, most people in Honduras have a family member in a gang. The UNspecialrapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders called Honduras one of the most dangerous countries for human rights defenders in Latin America. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. The IRC is calling for stronger international cooperation to address the humanitarian crisis that displaces hundreds of thousands from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala every year. Share this via Telegram This has a pretty good expat community too. Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. Not all U.S. presidents are missed once they leave the White House. Sign in How Gangs Control Honduras VICE News 8.42M subscribers. CNN Juan Orlando Hernndez, the former president of Honduras, appeared virtually for his initial US court appearance Friday on federal drug trafficking and firearms possession charges.. But if the peace in the condemning nations were to rupture the way it has in El Salvador and Honduras, we can bet they . Chances are it wasnt cooked with too much care. But before arriving, the car stopped and the caravan split. Prisons saw significant Covid-19 outbreaks. There's no avoiding violence in Honduras, even at home. Anyone else would do well with a trusted tour group. As of September 2020, the US had yet to begin deporting any third country nationals to Honduras under the agreement. 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. On theCaribbean coast, there are plenty of delicious dishes to sample, with tortillasand things likerefried beansserved up with every meal. But it was not a tremor, nor a tsunami. Traveling around the country is a more complicated matter. Share this via Email Honduras declared the state of exception for 30 days in 162 neighborhoods, some politicians have already called for it to be extended in duration and territory. The former vice president has become the Democratic front-runner with primary victories across the country. Newton County Sheriff's Office was involved with . Hondurass prison population has doubled over the past decade, partly due to a 2013 reform that greatly expanded the use of mandatory pre-trial detention. 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 . And for transparencys sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links. Honduras recorded 3,496 murders in 2020. Check in and let people know your plans. If you are a keen diver, Roatan is well worth a visit. While homicide rates have dropped in recent years, Honduras is still the most dangerous country in the region, with 38 homicides per 100,000 people. Then there are quite a lot of gang wars as well. We provide specialized support for survivors of gender-based violence; create safe spaces for women, youth and the LGBTQ+ community; and also offer psychosocial counseling and social work support. From 2011 to 2017, the number of killings in Honduras actually dropped, from 87 per 100,000 to 44. Patrick said the inmates were captured about 7:45 AM in downtown Newton. REUTERS/Fredy Rodriguez/File PhotoReuters. Activist groups, like the Grupo Prisma, have formed that educate and inform the general public as well as fight the current rules against homosexual relationships. Between December 2019, when prisons were placed under military control, and September 2020, 54 people died in eight prison incidents, the IACHR and OHCHR report. If you see any outdated information in this guide, we would really appreciate it if you could reach out in the comments below. The men remained missing at time of writing. Gender-based violence in Honduras is also among the highest in the region and has increased during the pandemic. The violence is carried out by local drug trafficking groups, gangs, corrupt security forces and transnational criminal organizations mainly from Mexico and Colombia. If we didnt have Bukeles example, we could probably look for some control and security responses based on strengthening institutions.. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can seriously get you in trouble. In addition, gang recruitment of minors has contributed to the increasing numbers of families and unaccompanied children leaving Honduras for Mexico, some planning to travel onward to the U.S.. Since the end of the last decade, political protection has allowed the traditional drug trafficking groups to flourish. crime Mayor and Retired Honduras National Police Sub-Commissioner Arrested for Organized Crime Involvement By Hector Martinez on February 24, 2016 crime, extortion, gangs, mara, MaraSalvatrucha, ms13, MS18, murder, narcotics, OrganizedCrime, salvatrucha General Honduras News, Headline News Historically, governments have responded with iron-fist security strategies to combat organized crime, enacting tougher legislation and increasing police presence and mass detentions. You should ask locals on the best routes to take to any given place. Look and see where locals are eating. Efforts to reform public-security institutions have stalled. The code also includes poorly constructed provisions that could lead to violations of the rights to assemble and protest and an overly broad definition of association to engage in terrorism, which could be used to criminalize and disproportionately punish behaviors that fall far short of what most reasonable observers would consider terrorism. Honduras partially suspends constitutional rights to tackle gangs, Its a war on the people: El Salvadors mass arrests send thousands into despair, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Trump, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, announced a slate of futuristic new policies in a campaign video Friday. This perception has grown despite a slight reduction in homicides this year, according to preliminary data, and a significant drop over the past decade since Honduras held the ignominious title of the worlds most violent country. We wouldnt recommend members of the LGBTQ+ community to visit Honduras unless theyre prepared to keep any sort of affection behind closed doors. But its clear that extortion is occurring in areas where it didnt in the past, and there is no disagreement, among experts or others, on the gravity of the problem. Drug trafficking gangs, corruption, and extreme poverty keep Honduras down. Honduras has been through a lot in recent years. Youll be able to travel around here with relative ease. REUTERS/Fredy Rodriguez/File Photo. The Gordon Ramsay Honduras Video Just last week the BBC affiliated chef published a video of Honduras. January 26, 2022 At a glance Population: 10.1 million 2.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid Namely, being robbed. The streets of major cities like Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula are gripped by crime and conflict. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2020 was 36.33, a 13.52% decline from 2019. For years, street gangs have charged protection money from bus and taxi drivers and store owners in Honduras, as in neighboring El Salvador. It may have improved it actually. In June, the OHCHR and IACHR jointly expressed concern that the new penal code disproportionately restricts freedoms of speech, press, and association and fails to criminalize torture committed by third parties acting on behalf of state agents. At the same time, traveling alone can be stressful, boring, lonely, anddangerous in varying quantities. And theyre generally safe. "Today at dawn, in a single operation, we transferred the first 2,000 gang . There are an estimated 115,000 gang members. Also in February, the OAS special rapporteur on freedom of expression called on Honduras to decriminalize defamation and to properly investigate killings of journalists. As of August 2020, more than 21,000 people were detained in prisons with capacity for just under 11,000. Planning a safe trip to Honduras can get quite overwhelming. Garza is wanted in Honduras for homicide. 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. Heres what you need to know about the growing crisis in Honduras. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Honduras Extends, Expands State of Emergency Meant to Fight Crime, 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. The mission in early December was ostensibly to raid a casa loca, an abandoned home used by gang members. . Home to the second biggest barrier reef in the world, beaches, and sparkling turquoise sea, as well as a whole host of Mayan ruins, amazing coffee, and the second largest rainforest in the Americas, Honduras is extremely biodiverse: there are 770 bird species alone. And watch out for bad road conditions after heavy rain. During the first month of the measures, 39 criminal gangs were destroyed and 652 people were arrested, while 43 kilos of cocaine and thousands of grams and rocks of crack were seized, the police said. It suspends some Constitutional rights and gives police more powers to arrest and hold suspects. After irregularities and delays, the trial of David Castillo, one of the men accused of planning the 2016 killing of environmental activist Berta Cceres, began in September 2020. And what you had, you know, after the coup, while the U.S. did cut assistance, it was very. We dont want to recommend traveling to the rest of Honduras with your family. This rule especially goes at night. There are high levels of crime in Honduras. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Tegucigalpa. Youll also have to take care that your children dont stay in the sun fortoo long. Well Public transportation can be alittle trickyin Honduras, and its not always safe. Lucky for you,youre not a Honduran citizen. The groups most likely to be internally displaced or leave the country are children subjected to forced gang recruitment, professionals and business owners who face extortion, domestic violence survivors, and LGBT people and members of ethnic minorities who face violence and discrimination. Latest News Profile Criminal Actors Investigations News Latest News This social democratic government is declaring war on extorsion, just as it has, since the first day, declared wars on corruption, impunity and drug trafficking," Castro said. Dont drink the water without treating, and steer clear of ice cubes,too. There are probably more sketchy areas in Honduras than there are safe ones. We provide cash to help people meet basic needs. Over60% of the populationlive below the poverty line. Not really. There are quite a few cute Airbnbs in Honduras, and as long as you stay in one of the safer neighborhoods, wed say that renting an Airbnb is perfectly safe. The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. Many people do travel to this particular part of Honduras,even with their families. Although there is a law that provides higher penalties for bias-based crimes, including on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, the Attorney Generals office told Human Rights Watch in September 2020 that no one has been convicted under the law. Read about how e-Sims work or click below to see one of the top eSIM providers on the market andditch the plastic. Sign up for our newsletter and get the best travel tips delivered right to your inbox. Abortionisillegalin Honduras in all circumstances. San Pedro Sula, Honduras, has been given the unfortunate title of the most dangerous city in the world. Honduras major drug trafficking groups like the Cachiros and the Valles have largely been dismantled with the arrest and extradition of top leaders, but vestiges of these clans continue to operate. Gang violence is widespread in and around urban areas. International Rescue Committee is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. FromLimonestoLa Union, fromGualacotoSan Esteban,and fromLa EsperanzatoGraciasThese routes can bedangerous. Violence: Honduras reached a . Wed classify it as generally hazardous. Members of the military police of public order patrol a street during a special operation against criminal gangs in Tegucigalpa on 6 December. Police raid a house in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on 8 December. That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2017 was 40.98, a 26.23% decline from 2016. A study published in April reported that nearly half of teachers in rural areas had not been able to contact the majority of their students. You can definitely push your luck by staying in the wrong neighborhood as well. They are taxed by gangs. That said, the development that has taken place has not totally sucked the island dry of its charm. A woman is killed every 23 hours on average, the National Autonomous University of Honduras Violence Observatory reports. As world leaders met for the United Nations General Assembly, Latin American presidents expressed various concerns about organized crime. led to the detention of more than 2% of its adult population. Some areas are also safer than others. El Salvador and Honduras have been condemned by the "civilized" world. Our work is costly and high risk. The violence is carried out by local drug trafficking groups, gangs, corrupt security forces and transnational criminal organizations mainly from Mexico and Colombia. Inside Honduras' most dangerous gangs 127,396 views Mar 8, 2020 1.2K Dislike Share Save Sky News 5.19M subscribers Warning: this report contains blurred images of dead bodies which some viewers. In El Salvador, a Thin Line Between Community Policing and Vigilantism. We travel with a filter bottle, the GRAYL GEOPRESS or we just boil the water for a few minutes and store in a refillable water bottle. But the removal of military officers from an anti-gang taskforce resulted in a messy divorce that temporarily reduced the units already limited capacity opening a window for criminals and before the community policing model could have any effect, the political pressure to take decisive action against extortion boiled over. Police presented a comprehensive plan to reform laws and ramp up institutional capacity measures that experts believe could have a positive effect long-term but which were pushed aside by the short-term political decision to declare a state of exception. (Reporting by Orfa Mejia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Leslie Adler). 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. On Friday, Jorge Lanza the leader of the bus operators in Honduras, supported the move, saying bus drivers were tired of being threatened and killed for not paying protection money. People do it. To Desafio, the Barrio 18 gang in Honduras was everything. 18th Street, also known as Calle 18, Barrio 18, Mara 18, or simply La 18 in Central America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Mexican) transnational criminal organization that started as a street gang in Los Angeles.It is one of the largest transnational criminal gangs in Los Angeles, with 65,000 members between the United States, Mexico, and Central America and is also allied . Keeping yourself away from any situation to do with them will be a good way to keep yourself pretty much safe. Journalists, environmental activists,lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals,and people with disabilities are among the groups targeted forviolence. The question of Is Honduras Safe? will ALWAYS have a different answer depending on the parties involved. October 4, 2021 The U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is pleased to announce a donation from the government of the United States of 250,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to the people of Honduras. In March 2020, the government declared a state of emergency in response to the pandemic, imposing a lockdown and restricting movement and freedom of expression. Women in Guatemala: The New Faces of Extortion? Every 18 hours, a woman is a victim of a violent death. As expected, the video went viral and the local newspapers made sure they put this trusted news source on their front page. It also documented widespread mistreatment of people detained and arrested during the protests. A law prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting childrentook effect in 2019. Expat retirees, yachties, families with kids, and cruise ship tourists make up a large majority of the demographic found on Roatan at any given time. All of these are in Santa Barbara Department, which also sees hijackings aroundTela, La Ceiba, andEl Progresoas well asTrujillo. Individuals and state agents continute to threaten and attack journalists, press freedom groups report. Overcrowding, inadequate nutrition, poor sanitation, beatings, intra-gang violence, and detainee killings are endemic in prisons. document.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Almost 110,000 Hondurans were returned in 2019, mostly from Mexico. The police chief in Honduras reported 356 fewer homicides between Dec. 6, 2022 and Feb 20, 2023, compared to the period Dec. 6, 2021 to Feb. 20, 2022. Every dollar supports our mission. We are going to be covering a whole lot of topics in this epic Honduras safety guide. More than half of detained men and two-thirds of detained women were in pretrial detention. A ferry also runs betweenTrujilloandGuanaja. The Covid-19 pandemic has further limited access to education for many children. In January 2020, the government shut down the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH). The new criminal code that came into effect in June 2020 includes new alternative sanctions to detention for some minor crimes that could help reduce the prison population. Honduras and theUS signed anasylum cooperative agreement in 2019, whereby Honduras agreed to receivenon-Honduran asylum-seekerstransferred by the US. Women in Honduras face high levels of gender-based violence. Members include officers from the police, the military, and the Attorneys General Office. Get your accommodation to either recommenda good company or just book one for you. Marred by corruption and abuse, the judiciary and police remain largely ineffective. If you use our guide, do your own research, and practise common sense, you will have a safe trip to Honduras. The government of Honduras is committed to attracting more tourists. Excessive use of force by police and deployment of the military in public security operations continued in 2020. There are many daily newspapers in Honduras where that constantly provide the latest updated news and information. Because of human rights, crime has gone on so long, because human rights defend the criminal, and it shouldnt be like that, she said. But if youre thinking about it, here are some tips. But traveling there is possible, of course. Call us in Washington, D.C. at 1-888-407-4747 (toll-free in the United States and Canada) or 1-202-501-4444 (from all other countries) from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). So youll likely escape having to pay war tax (or facing the consequences). It might sound like paradiseBut it isnt. It may not exactly be classed as safe, but Honduras shouldnt be ignored. Public buildings, transportation, and information and communication services open to the public are not fully accessible to people with disabilities. The US is losing allies in Latin America just as production of cocaine, fentanyl, and other synthetic drugs is going through the roof. Reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime. Abuses by security forces, including alleged collusion with criminal organizations, and weak state institutions, have contributed to the persistence of gang violence. Instead, buy an eSIM! In April, the office expressed concern regarding accusations of excesive use of force by state security agents enforcing the governments Covid-19 restrictions. In 2013, Honduras reformed the penal code to recognize femicide as a crime. Late Thursday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro proposed a measure to limit constitutional rights so as to round up gang members. To reduce overcrowding in response to the pandemic, the legislature approved alternatives to pretrial detention in June and judges released more than 1,600 people. It can be a super enriching experience. The first 2,000 inmates were transferred to El Salvador's new mega-prison for hardcore gangbangers. Honduras isnt perfectly safe for tourists, but that doesnt mean that you can travel there or have a good time. There are 37 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, and all 18 provinces are. And Honduras has been struggling to build representative democracy, to fight corruption and crime. Youll get the, If youve got no locals to ask, just use your eyes. Honduras hasn't specified exactly what the state of emergency would entail, but normally such measures temporarily suspend normal rules regulating arrests and searches; sometime limits on freedom of speech and assembly are implemented as well. Get the latest news about the IRC's innovative programs, compelling stories about our clients and how you can make a difference. Lots of travelers stick to bottled water,but please dont. Plus theres Copan: the ancientMayanarchaeological site, complete with amazing sculptures. Violence against LGBT individuals forces many to leave their homes, fleeing internally or leaving the country to seek asylum. Schools were closed from March onward due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are all about smart travel and were here to help you travel smart too. With those come violenceandpoverty. Is Honduras safe for solo female travelers? Living in Honduras means youll have to adjust your life to the way of life here. And that is pretty cool. Patrick said the inmates were captured about 7:45 AM in downtown Newton. Share this via WhatsApp By 2020 they want an additional milliontourists annually. In April, Public Order Military Police (PMOP) officers severely beat three brothers and shot two of themone fatallyfor allegedly violating a curfew in El Paraso in order to sell bread. Other ways to share You dont know how clean the persons hands are whos been peeling and chopping the, Dont go TOO in on the food when you first arrive, especially if you get ill from food quite easily. The information present in this safety guide was accurate at the time of writing, however, the world is a changeable place, now more than ever. Violent gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, rape, and narcotics and human trafficking, is widespread. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. San Pedro Sula is the most dangerous city, not just in Honduras, but in the whole world. The law also sanctions abortion providers. The Honduran government on Saturday extended a state of emergency declaration for 45 days, expanding it to additional areas of the country in an effort to fight criminal gangs amid high levels of violence. The effort comes amid complaints by business owners, the transportation sector and ordinary Hondurans that extortion by criminals has risen in recent months. Enjoy your travels! More information.

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