In Honduras, a Mess Made in the U.S.

Dana Frank, a historyprofessor and the University of California, Santa Cruz, has an op-ed in the NewYork Times on Honduras this morning. It's well worth the read.

IT’S time to acknowledge the foreign policy disaster thatAmerican support for the PorfirioLobo administration in Honduras hasbecome. Ever since the June 28, 2009, coup that deposed Honduras’sdemocratically elected president, JoséManuel Zelaya, the country has been descending deeper into a humanrights and security abyss. That abyss is in good part the State Department’smaking.

The headlines have been full of horror stories aboutHonduras. According to the United Nations, it now has the world’s highestmurder rate, and San Pedro Sula, its second city, is more dangerous than CiudadJuárez, Mexico, a center for drug cartel violence.

Much of the press in the United States has attributed thisviolence solely to drug trafficking and gangs. But the coup was what threw openthe doors to a huge increase in drug trafficking and violence, and it unleasheda continuing wave of state-sponsored repression. 

I'm just not sure whatthe title is. On the webpage, it says "In Honduras, A Mess Made in the U.S."However, the link has a title of "In Honduras, A Mess Helped by theU.S." There's a pretty big difference between the two. One obviouslyconcludes that the US is the primary actor behind today's violence. In thesecond, the US is a secondary actor whose action, or inaction, has helpedcontribute to the insecurity in the country today.

The US role in Argentina's dirty war is also the focus of Ex-diplomat: US knew about Argentina baby thefts. A former U.S. diplomat testified Thursday that Americanofficials knew Argentina's military regime was taking babies from dead orjailed dissidents during its "dirty war" against leftists in the1970s, and it appeared to be a systematic effort at the time.

Elliot Abrams testified by videoconference from Washingtonin the trial of former dictators Jorge Videla and Reynaldo Bignone and othermilitary and police figures accused of organizing the theft of babies fromwomen who were detained and then executed in the 1976-1983 junta's torturecenters.

Abrams said U.S. officials were aware that some children hadbeen taken and then illegally adopted by families loyal to the regime.

In this article, the US encouraged the regime to usethe Roman Catholic Church to return the babies to their families, but theregime refused. 

In some ways it reminds me of the situation inHonduras. Following the 2009 coup and Zelaya’s removal from the country, the USencouraged the parties to find an amicable settlement that would lead to Zelaya’sreturn to the country. Our allies in Honduras, in this case those who carriedout the coup, said no. The events were obviously a little more complicated thanthat, but the US’s failure to take a stronger stand in Honduras and Argentinamakes us complicit in these crimes. 

Honduras: Central America’s free-fire zone

The Miami Herald ha hasa new editorial, Central America's free-fire zone, calling forstronger action against Honduras in light of escalating violence andcorruption.

The recent withdrawal of America’s Peace Corps volunteersfrom Honduras is one more sign that the security situation in that CentralAmerican country has deteriorated to crisis levels not seen since the civilwars of the 1980s. The country is quickly turning into a disaster zone.

After the tide of civil war receded, the armies went back totheir barracks and the insurgents laid down their arms. But then narcoticstraffickers flooded in, and the violence has spiked dramatically ever since.The DEA estimates that 25 tons of cocaine move through the country every monthheading north.

In my opinion, theeditorial is poorly framed. First, why all this talk about civil wars, armiesreturning to their barracks, and insurgents laying down their arms when, in thecase of Honduras, it didn't experience a civil war, the army returned to itsbarracks but never relinquished power, and few insurgents ever posed a threatto the survival of the regime. 

Why not talk about the US-encouragedmilitarization of the country during the 1970s and 1980s. How about the contrasoperating on Honduran soil and launching illegal attacks across the border andinto Nicaragua? You could also write about US support and training for Hondurantroops involved in helping to massacre Salvadorans along its border during the1980s.   

They could also avoidthe 1980s Cold War rhetoric altogether since the war's been over for twentyyears. If there's been a "a 250-percent increase in half a dozen years," why notlook to the source of violence six years ago rather than twenty-five years ago?They could write about some of the mano dura policies firstintroduced in 2002 or the breakdown of the rule of law prior to, during, andafter the 2009 coup?

It'salso a terrible title because, while violent, I'm not exactly sure that anyonewould describe the situation as a "free-fire zone" and if it's aneditorial about the situation in Honduras, why not put "Honduras" inthe title rather than "Central America."

For a south Floridanewspaper with an international audience, they should be able to write aboutHonduras' particular history rather than general regional patterns.

This time, however, thereappears to be no effective U.S. strategy to combat the wave of crime and thegradual destruction of the country. To make matters worse in Honduras, thereare indications that elements of theU.S.-backed government are complicit in the violence andcriminality.

Way to beat around thebush. How about the Honduran government receives millions of dollars each yearfrom the United States at the same time that members of the executive,legislative and judicial branches are responsible for much of the country'sviolence and criminality? The evidence that the Miami Herald lists after thesetwo statements is much stronger but they already undermined its effect withindications, elements, and complicit framing.

Nudging Honduran leaders to do the right thing hasn’tworked. Time for Washington to get serious and put U.S. aid on the line,starting with an accounting of where U.S. dollars have ended up. The U.S.government helped fund a program to train Honduran prison guards, but has sincelost track of where those guards wound up.

Historically, the United States has been the biggestbilateral donor of aid to Honduras, but where’s the accountability?

Congress should withdraw assistance if the Hondurangovernment blocks reforms. This crisis requires more than tough talk.

Finally, I support aneffort to hold Honduran leaders accountable for the security situation andcorruption. However, the editorial also should have called on the US congressand the executive branch to review their own actions. How have they contributedto the situation in Honduras? How are they going to change the way that theyoperate? 

Does anyone in the US government have a clue? 

(h/t to Boz fora link to the article)

Murder and Police Corruption in Honduras

It's good to see themedia begin to pick up on the fact that national police and governmentofficials in Central American are involved in all sorts of crime. It's not justdrug traffickers from Mexico and Colombia or gangs. (See the Miami Herald and McClatchy). Boz also has a write-up on Police Corruption in Honduras this morning.

A few things jumped outat me. I don't follow Honduran politics as closely as others, but how can youappoint a Security Minister to "lead a sweep of law enforcement" whohad no idea that criminals were operating out of police stations? Maybe not tothe extent that it was occurring, but not that it wasn't happening.

“It never occurred to me whenI took over this ministry that inside police stations there were peoplecommitting crimes and acting against human life,” said Security MinisterPompeyo Bonilla, named recently to lead a sweep of law enforcement. “We have aserious problem.”

While the Miami Heraldarticle wasn't bad, I can't help but notice that the 2009 coup against Zelayawasn't mentioned at all. Perhaps the the violence would have escalated inHonduras had the June 2009 coup not occurred. Obviously, we'll never know. Butit sure seems to me that violence committed by authorities has increased sincethat date. There's also the concern that drug traffickers stepped in to takeadvantage of the chaos that ensued following the coup. It should have beenmentioned even in passing.

Tim Johnson also has agood article for McClatchy on Crime booms as Central Americans fear police switched sides.I definitely don't like the title. Maybe they could have changed it to crimebooms as Central American police remains on both sides of the law.Maybe it's worse today but problem is nothing new.

Murder rates remain stubbornlyhigh across the region. El Salvador tallied 4,354 murders last year, slightlyunder Guatemala's 5,618 and the 6,723 that Honduras registered. The NorthernTriangle now approaches far more populous Mexico in the total number ofhomicides.

Now, notto be picky but these are not rates. It's also not good to present thesenumbers without taking into consideration population differences. El Salvadorhas a population of approximately 6 million, Guatemala somewhere in the 14million range, and Honduras about 8 million. 

Finally, changes in murder ratesfor each country do not look alike. While crime booms, the murder rate in ElSalvador has gone up some years and down other years. In Honduras, it has gonestraight up. And in Guatemala, it has remained pretty flat for the last fewyears. Unlike Honduras and El Salvador, it has declined two years in a row. Guatemala'smurder rate has also been significantly lower than those for the two countriesfor just about every year under consideration.

A comparison of the three countriesshould take these differences into account.

The Miami Herald (Therisks and rewards of helping Honduras) and HermanoJuancito also have stories worth checking out. Their focus is on doinggood work in the midst of such violence. 

A Different Take on Murders in Central America

Here's what Prensa Libre picked up from AGENCIA ACAN-EFE.

Violence has surged in Guatemala during the last ten years, officials said, because of the presence of youth gangs and drug gangs that have been installed in the country. Last year, according to official figures, 5,681 murders were reported in the country, an average of 16 per day, equivalent to a rate of 38.61 homicides per 100 000 inhabitants. These figures place this Central American country as one of the most dangerous and violent in Latin America.

Would it be so hard to say that 2011's murder rate was the country's lowest since 2004? 

Or how about Guatemala's murder rate of 38.61 is very high, yet it is no where near as high as those of Venezuela (67), El Salvador (70), or Honduras (86)?

Or how about Guatemala's murder rate has never told the complete story about how dangerous a country Guatemala has been? Here's a ranking of the most violent country years since 2000. These are based upon homicide rates for El Salvador, Honduras, and El Salvador per 100,000 people. 

I only intended to compile a list of the top ten. However, I had to go to fifteen so as to include Guatemala somewhere on the list. Guatemala's 2011 rate would rank 25th out of 36 country-years.  

While we are at it, is citing murder statistics useless when we describe Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala? The Northern Triangle is frequently described as one of the most dangerous regions on the planet yet Honduras and El Salvador have nearly double Guatemala's murder rate.

Then there's the title of post - "At least 19 people have been killed in the last 24 hours." Obviously, when you average 16 murders per day, it's not that unusual that you will have days where the total number of murders will reach 19. That's how averages work - some days below and some days above. The Latin American Herald Tribune picked the story up as well.


My hope that the coverage of violence Central America would improve this year isn't looking so good.

Here are some other posts since Friday in case you were busy with football or the NH debate.

Salvadorans Continue to Disappear - but what about Guatemalans?

Guatemala doesn't count?

Some links that I never got around to

Guatemala murder rates (1995-2011)

Central American Homicide Rates per 100,000

Murder rates aren't everything, but Honduras and El Salvador are really in a league of their own.

No, it's not clear that some of Guatemala's violence has moved to Honduras. It's possible, but the slight improvement in Guatemala's murder rate really can't explain the takeoff in Honduras' rate.

The murder rates for 2000-2010 come from LPG. For Guatemala, the 2011 rate comes from here (it looks like they've added sixty-three murders since my last post). For El Salvador, the rate is based on a population of 6.2 million. And here is the data on Honduras as reported by La Tribuna..

Central American violence claims three more victims

In case you haven't heard, the Peace Corps is pulling its volunteers out of Honduras and freezing new volunteers to El Salvador and Guatemala. It's a sad day indeed.

Kristina Edmunson, a Peace Corps spokeswoman in Washington, said the moves stemmed from “comprehensive safety and security concerns” rather than any specific threat or incident. 

However, a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras was recently shot in the leg during a botched bus assault. I also heard that several PCVs in Guatemala were robbed on a bus about two weeks ago. The violence does not appear to yet have targeted PCVs, but they continue to be caught up in the violence that affects the Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran people daily. 

I said on Twitter that they should send the volunteers to Nicaragua. I wasn't really joking. It's a beautiful country. The volunteers could learn a lot and the people of Nicaragua could use the help. It's still in Central America. And it's a lot safer. 

The other destination is Colombia where the Peace Corps reopened in 2010 after a twenty-nine year absence. There aren't that many PCVs serving in Colombia yet but the country should be able to handle more than the 20 or so that are currently placed.

I sincerely hope that the Peace Corps does not pull out of El Salvador and Guatemala as I fear a return to the region will be a long time in the making.

TPS Extension for Honduras and Nicaragua

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that the Obama administration was extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Honduras and Nicaragua for another 18 months each. 


TPS status will now expire on July 5, 2013. Chances are TPS will just be extended again before they expire in 2013, that is, unless the Republicans win in 2012. Then all bets are off.

Drug and violence links from around the region

From the Miami Herald 

The U.S. government’s anti-drug smuggling offensive on the Mexican border has caused a “balloon effect” that is expected to spur more narcotics trafficking through the Caribbean, South Florida’s top federal official warned Thursday.

Cocaine and other illegal drugs flooding the United States are still flowing mostly through a pipeline from Colombia to Mexico across the Southwest border. But the trend is expected to shift, U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said in Miami Thursday.

“We’re hitting them hard there,’’ Ferrer told reporters. “It’s only a matter of time before we see an increase here.’’

That's right. Our success in Mexico and Central America is leading to an uptick in drugs through the Caribbean. 


Some other drug and violence-related stories

Feds seize drug sub with 7.5 tons of cocaine off Honduran coast

Mexico's drug war comes to Belize (Why not the United States' drug war?)

 Guatemala: Drug Trafficking and Violence 

As Elections Loom, Report Profiles Guatemala's Drug Trafficking World

More on the the decline in homicides in Guatemala from Carlos Mendoza at CABI

At least 6 Colombians killed in Guatemala attacks (it's early yet, but October still looks a little more violent than the past few months)

Guatemala's murder rate hit a terrifying 52 per 100,000 in 2009. Colom is leaving with a murder rate approaching 40 per 100,000. Not bad considering where Honduras and El Salvador are today.

Not Looking Good for an Economic Turnaround

It's not looking good for an economic turnaround in Central America. The International Monetary Fund's economic forecasts for the region don't look good compared to Mexico and South America.

El Salvador will be the growth laggard in Latin America this year, with an estimated expansion  of only 2 percent.
Other growth laggards include Venezuela and Guatemala (2.8 percent) and Honduras (3.5 percent).

We don't know how UNE would have done had it presented a presidential candidate in Guatemala this year (probably not that good). However, I wouldn't feel that comfortable if I were in the FMLN's shoes right now.

Al Jazeera on Central America

Al Jazeera has posted several stories and videos on Central America this week that are worth checking out. 

Fear and Loathing in El Salvador

An interview with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes 

Elite troops take sides in Mexican drugs wars (Guatemalan kaibiles)

Guatemala: A narco state?

Surge in cocaine trafficking through Honduras

Definitely check out the interview with Mauricio Funes. It's nearly twenty--five minutes long, but has English subtitles.

Honduras on Alert for Al Qaeda

Honduras has been on alert for two Afghans suspected of being members of al Qaeda. Three weeks ago the UN Security Council asked the Honduran government whether two Afghans (Khalil Al-Rahman Haqqani and Said Jan Abd Al-Salan) had entered or tried to enter the country as businessmen. According to Honduras' La Prensa, the Security Council also asked the Supreme Court of Justice in Honduras to freeze their accounts.

Given that the government was asked to freeze their accounts, the government's public statement that it has no record of these men in the country or trying to enter the country sounds a bit odd to me. We'll just have to wait on additional details to come to light.  

This isn't the first time that Al Qaeda and Honduras have been connected. In 2004, Honduras "tightened security at foreign embassies and declared a national terror alert after receiving information that al Qaeda was trying to recruit Hondurans to attack embassies of the United States, Britain, Spain and El Salvador." That was when many were afraid that al Qaeda might link up with gangs in Central America.

Stations of the Cross in Honduras

Hermano Juancito has a nice post up describing how the people of Santa Rosa de Copán in Honduras are remembering Jesus' death and resurrection as we approach Easter.

Each station of the cross (first half) reflects some aspect of their everyday life (second half). Here are a few of this year's themes:

1. Jesus is condemned to death - Maladministration of Justice

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus - Corruption at every level

7. Jesus calls the second time - Violence, hired assassins, drug-trafficking, insecurity

9. Jesus falls the third time - Coup d’état, polarization, reconciliation

12. Jesus dies on the cross - Attacks on life (Climate change, Mining, human rights, [disappearances, assassinations, abortion, drug-trafficking])

13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross - Those who have fallen in the struggle

15. Jesus is raised from the dead - The resurrection of the people

You'll have to click through to see the entire list.

News from Central America

Here are a few English-language stories related to Central America, most of which should be interesting to you I hope.

On Tuesday, the people of El Salvador celebrated Missing Children's Day with a variety of activities throughout the country. The day´s activities included a moment of silence in schools, the issuing of a commemorative stamp, a university essay contest award ceremony, and signing performances.

Pro-Busqueda is an organization that remains at the forefront of helping to locate children who were disappeared during the war.

In Big Fish Eat the Small Fish, Danilo Valladares discusses the difficulties confronting "Thousands of small-scale fishers in Central America [are] fighting for survival in the face of free trade deals, transnational corporations, mega tourism projects and pollution that is harming marine life." Large-scale commercial fishers have mainly benefited from recent trade deals.

Valladares also has the story of Guatemala: Forced evictions - peasant farms razed to the ground, a story about the displacement of indigenous farmers in Alta Verapaz.
Eleven Guatemalan women are suing Toronto-based HudBay Minerals and its subsidiarity, HMI Nickel, for $55 million dollars. The women claim that they were assaulted and gang-raped by security and police forces near the company's operations in 2007. Some of the attackers were wearing company uniforms.

Emily Ruiz, a 4-year-old US citizen who was deported along with her grandfather, to his (and her parents') native country, Guatemala, has finally returned to New York. When her grandfather with whom she was travelling was denied entry to the US, she was sent back to Guatemala with him.
 
Albright College and Alvernia University, two Pennsylvania colleges, are working with Salvadoran filmmakers on a Documentary To Focus On Violent Gang With Ties To Reading.
 
Fox News Latino has a brief blurb on weapons entering Mexico from Central America that appeared in US cables released through Wikileaks (Mexican cartels get heavy weapons from CentAm, U.S. cables say).

Ex-Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann appeared before a Spanish court to fight his extradition back to Guatemala. He stand accused of a variety of crimes, including the 2006 summary executions of seven inmates at the Pavon prison and the killing of three inmates from another jail a year earlier.
Also check out two recent Hemispheric Briefs for coverage of event in Honduras (one and two - halfway down each post). And since I don't comment much on Honduras, you should always check out Honduras Culture and Politics for insightful commentary.

Now back to one of my "favorite" books on El Salvador, Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuria and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador by Teresa Whitfield.