Honduras Weekly
Corruption in Honduras is a Way of Life
Written by Marco Cáceres
18 November 2011
Click for Video Interview
By Marco Cáceres
On October 1, 2011, I met Salvador Nasralla for the first time in Tegucigalpa and sat down with him for about an hour and half to talk about his candidacy for the Presidency of Honduras and his new Anti-Corruption Party (PAC), which he subsequently registered with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). The next presidential election is scheduled for November 2013. We discussed a number of issues of critical importance to Honduras and his ideas for addressing them. I found Mr. Nasralla to be extremely forthright in his responses and unusually confident of his chances for winning, particularly given that he has never before run for political office and will not be representing either one of the two major parties. The following is the first part of the interview, which we have broken up into five parts. Transcripts of the other four parts will be published over the next few weeks.
EU Will Provide US$65 Million to Honduras in 2012
Written by Honduras Weekly
03 January 2012
Honduras Weekly
The European Union (EU) will provide €50 million (US$64.795 million) to Honduras this year. The funds -- part of the €223 million (US$289 million) committed by the EU to Honduras for 2007-2013 -- will be spent on environmental support programs, specifically related to the preservation of forests and the balanced commercial development of lumber. The EU's delegate in Honduras, Peter Versteeg, said that a portion of the money would also be invested in efforts to improve security and human rights in the country. At least three human rights groups in Honduras will receive EU financial assistance. Mr. Versteeg noted that the EU is particularly interested in sending representatives to visit the Bajo Aguán Valley to better understand the land dispute in that unstable region. Some 50 people have died in the Bajo Aguán during the past two years in armed clashes involving peasant groups and security guards hired by wealthy landowners. (1/3/12)
Zero Incidents in Honduras
Written by Dave Riley
25 January 2012
We the members of Amigos of Honduras travel twice a year throughout Honduras. We go from Roatán to La Ceiba to Copán to Comayagua and finish in Tegucigalpa. We have been doing this the last six years. We are careful and don't go out at night. We have had zero incidents in the 18 times that I have personally been down there. For us, the good that we feel we are doing providing clean water to Hondurans living in the mountains is worth the risk. I have not heard of any incidents with the myriad of colored t-shirt groups that we see on the planes coming home from Honduras.
Honduras was a nasty corrupt violent country six years ago and, as gringos trying to help, we have seen no difference. We hear tons of stories from people we meet and friends down there, but we've just have never felt like targets. The Honduran people whom we meet are incredible and so thankful when they receive help or even a smile. I am not saying nothing will happen, but I would send my college aged daughter with a group that was well supervised and had with strict rules. Yo creo que vale la pena!
Dave Riley
Centerville, Utah
Amigos of Honduras
January 25, 2012
Central America Sees Boom in European Visitors
Written by Breaking Travel News
29 January 2012
In Honduras, there was a five per cent increase in the total number of visitors, 1,753,441 from January to October 2011, compared to 1,670,109 the previous year.
Breaking Travel News
Central America received a total of 9,577,114 foreign visitors during the first ten months of 2011, according to preliminary data provided by the ministries of tourism of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. While this figure is similar to the one registered in the same period in 2010, there is a remarkable increase in the number of European visitors (from 637,879 in 2010 to 675,471 in 2011, January to October), with British visitors up by seven per cent, from 79,995 in 2010 to 85,305 in 2011, January to October.
Honduras Aims to Create New Rural Police Force
Written by Elyssa Pachico
31 January 2012
The spokesperson for the National Police said that the emphasis should not only be on purging the police force of corrupt officials, but on the executive and legislative branches as well.
By Elyssa Pachico
On Sunday, the president of the Honduran Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández, announced plans to create a new rural police unit. Hernández said that the new branch is not intended to replace the National Police, but to aid in the fight against organized crime, according to Proceso Digital. Hernández's announcement followed a visit by representatives from the Chilean National Police, meant to advise Honduras on how to restructure the police force, reports the AFP. The Secretary of Security for the Organization of American States (OAS) also visited Honduras over the weekend in order to discuss police reform.
