We are going to eradicate extortion in every corner of our country.. That being said, its still one of the murder capitals in the world, so if youre an inexperienced travellers, you wont be safe. Wed,03/01/23-8:24AM, 1,088 Reads 16,082 Statewide. It can be a super enriching experience. Note that they are generally safe to visit during the day (with a bit of caution obviously), especially if you have a local guide, but should be fully avoided at night. Visiting Honduras right now is as safe as it ever was:not very. Not all U.S. presidents are missed once they leave the White House. And when it comes to the extreme violence of Honduras, thosevery highfigures come from gang violence. I believe that [Bukeles] leadership is increasing, because the tendency of the Bukele government is to become Central American, and to exercise leadership in all of Central America, said Moreno. How Gangs Control Honduras - YouTube 0:00 / 11:46 Sign in to confirm your age This video may be inappropriate for some users. If a restaurant or eatery of any sort looks busy, thats probably because its good, both in terms of taste and. Two private security officers were charged. The violence is carried out by local drug trafficking groups, gangs, corrupt security forces and transnational criminal organizations mainly from Mexico and Colombia. Allegations that senior politicians had been benefiting financially from the drug trade contributed to the unrest. if youre visiting Honduras, you will have to avoid this city completely. Certain routes that these take have been the target ofarmed attacks. There are alsopassenger ferriesif you want to go totheBay Islands. For now, there are 15,000 taxis who want your attention. Instead, buy an eSIM! Please support our mission investigating organized crime. Poor health infrastructure and limited access to sanitation services has contributed to the spread of the virus. It suspends some Constitutional rights and gives police more powers to arrest and hold suspects. All rights reserved. (Reporting by Orfa Mejia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Leslie Adler). 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.. In 2014, the United Nations reported that 95 percent of cases of sexual violence and femicide in Honduras were never even investigated. Members of the military police of public order get ready during a special operation in Tegucigalpa on 6 December. The rate of young people killing other young people is down to two main gangs : Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18. Lucky for you,youre not a Honduran citizen. A woman is killed every 23 hours on average, the National Autonomous University of Honduras Violence Observatory reports. At least 86 journalists were killed from 2001 through July 2020, the Honduran College of Journalists reported, and 92 percent of those killings remain unpunished. Honduras has the misfortune of being situated between South American cocaine production and U.S. drug consumption. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2018 was 38.93, a 5.01% decline from 2017. Sat Navs might not always tell you the best route. While Honduras is not seeing the political armed conflict common in most Watchlist countries this year, criminal gang violence is widespread. You can definitely push your luck by staying in the wrong neighborhood as well. Roatan is the more developed, more expensive, and family friendly big brother of Utila. 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. Corruption, no supervision, and poor legislation have led to Latin American military weapons ending up in criminal hands. Theyre run by private companies, obviously, and aremore expensivethan public buses. Extortion in Latin America continues to bring in fortunes for criminal gangs. Indeed, Honduras is seeing a plague of femicidesa woman is murdered every 36 hours, mostly by an intimate partner. Political power brokers also have ties to drug smuggling and have even run trafficking operations themselves. Thats why we listed the no-go areas in Honduras below. Honduras has been through a lot in recent years. Check in and let people know your plans. Itcan be safe as a solo female traveler in Honduras. So keep that in mind and have a read of our safety tips for solo female travelers thinking of taking a trip to Honduras. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. With all of its branches of government and its armed forces plagued by corruption, Honduras has evolved into a transit nation in which criminal groups, protected by the political system, have developed the capacity to produce cocaine hydrochloride in local laboratories. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. - The New York Times Inside Gang Territory In Honduras 'Either They Kill Us or We Kill Them' In one of the deadliest cities in the world, an embattled group of young men had little but their tiny. Public buildings, transportation, and information and communication services open to the public are not fully accessible to people with disabilities. With those come violenceandpoverty. And what you had, you know, after the coup, while the U.S. did cut assistance, it was very. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2019 was 42.01, a 7.91% increase from 2018. Nevertheless, the political gains to be had from emulating Bukeles hardline policies may be too enticing to pass up. I wouldnt dare to say that [extortion] has skyrocketed because it has been so high for many years, said Leticia Salomn, a sociologist and researcher with the Documentation Center of Honduras. And watch out for bad road conditions after heavy rain. Following domestic and international criticism, the government backtracked and a week later re-established constitutional free speech guarantees. Its not very safe to drive in Honduras. Lanza said drivers had been asking for a crackdown for years. Marred by corruption and abuse, the judiciary and police remain largely ineffective. At the same time, traveling alone can be stressful, boring, lonely, anddangerous in varying quantities. After a 2019 wave of gang violence that killed 37 detainees, President Hernndez declared a state of emergency and put prisons under military control. Suddenly you find yourself surrounded by backpackers, dive shops, hostels, burger shacks, smoothie stands, and pirate bars. But nongovernmental organizations have tallied several thousand human rights violations and at least 80 in-custody deaths of people arrested during the state of exception. Overcrowding, inadequate nutrition, poor sanitation, beatings, intra-gang violence, and detainee killings are endemic in prisons. Its a wild world out there. FILE PHOTO: Police raid a house after Honduras' President Xiomara Castro (not pictured) mobilised . Along with Honduras, the IRC also identified Haiti and Venezuela as the countries most at risk of experiencing deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2022 in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its prettyextreme. Locals drive atcrazy speeds on the highways, there are random toll roads that make the cost high (but if you dont take them, alternative routes are often not paved), and there are animals on the road. Violence against LGBT individuals forces many to leave their homes, fleeing internally or leaving the country to seek asylum. Jesse Watters: Buying mace in Manhattan is almost as hard as getting a gun. Seeing the world without anyone to answer to, getting to challenge yourself andgrow as a person. The media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported several cases of abusive police enforcement of the Covid-19 lockdown. Look and see where locals are eating. In September, two men shot and killed journalist Luis Alonzo Almendares in Comayagua. 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. In December 2018, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found Honduras responsible for failing to investigate Hernndezs death. Hondurashas endorsed the World Health OrganizationsSolidarity Call to Action for the Covid-19 Technology Access Pool, an initiative to realize equitable global access to COVID-19 health technologies through pooling of knowledge, intellectual property and data., Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in close to 100 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice, Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3)nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808, Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly, Attacks on Lawyers, Human Rights Defenders, and Environmental Activists, Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Violence Against Women, Migrants, Refugees, and Internally Displaced People, Bidens Challenge: Redeeming a US Role for Human Rights, Addressing the Climate Crisis in Times of Pandemic, From Flight Logs to Homeschooling, Human Rights Watch Grapples with Covids Challenges, As Online Gender-Based Violence Booms, Governments Drag Their Feet, The Other Pandemic: Fighting Inequality as We Beat Back Covid, Poverty, Pandemic, Police Violence: Ongoing Crises Demand the US Address Pervasive Racism. 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. Simple as that. The coastline of Cedeno, a fishing village in southern Honduras, looks like it was hit by an earthquake - houses, businesses and clubs stand in ruins. Here, you will find safety knowledge and advice for travelling Honduras. By BRENT MAZE. Here is available the most popular Honduras Newspapers list. More information. 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. It is not just murder, it's also the shocking numbers of rape, assault, and domestic violence cases, happening with near-total impunity. Xiomara should hurry up and go after all those gang members, said Isidora Varela, 70, at her market stand in downtown Tegucigalpa. That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we dont believe are up to scratch. Gangs control areas within the same communities,.