National

Honduras Aims to Create New Rural Police Force

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.

Honduran Journalist Gilda Silvestrucci Threatened

Silvestrucci edits the online newspaper El Patriota and produces “En la plaza,” a program broadcast every weekday morning on Radio Globo. She had just finished the morning’s program about a controversial mining bill currently before parliament when she received the call threatening her and her children.

Reporters Without Borders
Gilda Silvestrucci has become the latest member of the “Journalists for Life and Free Expression” collective to get threatening phone calls, following Itsmania Pineda Platero, who received a series of threatening calls earlier this month. The two women, along with a number of other journalists, organized a march on December 13that was violently dispersed outside the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The purpose of their march was to protest against free speech violations and impunity for those responsible. Silvestrucci has been constantly followed ever since she and 14 other women members of the collective filed a complaint against President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, armed forces chief of staff Gen. René Osorio Canales and presidential guard chief Gen. Andrés Felipe Díaz a week after the march.

Honduras Security Support Forum Set Up Online

Most humanitarian groups that have developed a connection to Honduras do not wish to abandon the country and its people, but they are searching for balanced information that is not influenced by the government, the business community, or political interest groups either on the left or the right.

Honduras Weekly
The decision in December by the Peace Corps to pullout its 158 volunteers from Honduras and temporarily suspend its work there has prompted a wave of online discussions by members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that send short-term mission teams or maintain a more long-term in-country presence. These organizations -- ranging from medical brigades, Rotary Clubs and church groups to hospitals, university students and foundations -- send more than 2,000 teams (view a sampling at www.hondurasweekly.com/news/missions-calendar) to Honduras each year, work with thousands of Honduran counterparts, and spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the country. Many of them are now concerned about the security situation in Honduras and are starting to have second thoughts about continuing their missions and projects there -- not because they've had a bad experience or suddenly feel threatened, but out of a sense of uncertainty and a simple desire to keep their members safe. These feelings have been fueled by the Peace Corp's move and articles in the international press highlighting the high homicide rate in Honduras.

Indigenous Groups in Honduras Fight Mining and Oil Law

Latinamerica Press
Indigenous groups in Honduras are demanding lawmakers scrap a bill to regulate and expand the country’s mining and hydrocarbon sectors, arguing that legislators would put the interests of large multinational companies ahead of the health and rights of the communities. The Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, an umbrella group, led a march in Tegucigalpa in mid-January to protest the bill, which it says threatens indigenous, Afro-Honduran and campesino communities’ health and access to a clean environment, including safe water.

Journalists Await Details of Press Restrictions

Honduras Weekly
The president of the College of Journalists of Honduras (CPH), Juan Ramón Mairena, today issued an alert to Honduran journalists in response to a law President Porfirio Lobo will propose to Congress aimed at regulating freedom of the press. "We need to see what the measure intends so as to make sure that it doesn't trample on the right of freedom of expression," said Mr. Mairena. "We'll wait to see the initiative the President of the Republic will submit in order to analyze it in depth and understand what he is trying to do. We hope that what he wants to do is improve the manner in which the image of Honduras is portrayed internationally... of how the media, journalists, and everyone who has anything to do with this system support the country so we can come out ahead."

Journalists Await Details of Free Press Restrictions

Honduras Weekly
The president of the College of Journalists in Honduras, Juan Ramón Mairena, today issued an alert to Honduran journalists in response to a law President Porfirio Lobo will propose to Congress aimed at regulating freedom of the press. "We need to see what the measure intends so as to make sure that it doesn't trample on the right of freedom of expression," said Mr. Mairena. "We'll wait to see the initiative the President of the Republic will submit in order to analyze it in depth and understand what he is trying to do. We hope that what he wants to do is improve the manner in which the image of Honduras is portrayed internationally... of how the media, journalists, and everyone who has anything to do with this system support the country so we can come out ahead."

Lobo Wants to Regulate Press Freedoms

Honduras Weekly
President Porfirio Lobo yesterday announced he will soon submit to Congress a proposed law to regulate freedom of the press in Honduras. "Get ready because I will be sending you a decree... you'll be getting it shortly," he promised. The President's comments came right after he had thanked the media for its work. "I want to express my appreciation to members of the press. Sometimes I don't tell you enough because I get a little embarrassed, but you make a tremendous contribution. The right to provide information in an impartial manner in order to help guide public opinion is something that should always be ensured in Honduras," stated Mr. Lobo. "I remain firmly committed to not denying anyone their freedom of expression. This is fundamental to me."

Lobo Anti-Drug Trafficking Strategy Takes Shape

Honduras Weekly
The pieces of the Lobo administration's strategy to combat narcotrafficking in Honduras and the infiltration of government institutions by personnel on the payroll of Mexican drug cartels appears to be coming together. Criminal experts and investigators are starting to arrive from the Chile, Colombia, and Spain. They will work closely with Honduran security forces to analyze the threats and develop responses. On Wednesday, President Lobo and the president of the Honduran Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández, met in Miami, Florida, with a high-level US government delegation to discuss the details of planned expansion in US technical assistance and support personnel, specifically dealing with citizen security. The US delegation included Francisco Palmieri, who is the Bureau Chief for the US State Department's Office for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and representatives from the US Justice Department and the White House's National Security Council.

San Pedro Bus Shooting Prompted Peace Corps Exit

Honduras Weekly
The decision in December by the US government to withdraw its 158 Peace Corps volunteers from Honduras has been attributed to the high crime rate in the country and at least the perception of a worsening security situation. The last time the Peace Corps suspended operations in Central America was in Nicaragua during 1979-1991 and in El Salvador in 1980-1993 -- both periods of ongoing civil wars in those nations. The US State Department has revealed little information about the specific factors that may have influenced its Peace Corps decision in Honduras, as well as its move to temporarily halt training of new volunteers in El Salvador and Guatemala. But it appears now that the pullout may have been prompted by an incident on December 3, 2011, in which US Peace Corps worker Lauren Robert, 27, was shot and wounded in the leg during a robbery in San Pedro Sula. The crime occurred on a bus, and it involved three alleged robbers -- one of whom was killed. Two other passengers riding on the bus with Ms. Robert, who is from Texas, were also wounded.

Coffee Farmers Win Honduras’ Cup of Excellence

Coffee is Honduras’ most important crop, accounting for more than a third of the country’s agricultural output. Much of its production is excellent, high altitude coffee; ideal for the specialty market.

By Linda Habenstreit
Tf you can name it, there’s probably a competitive event for it. For instance, coffee has its own competition called the Cup of Excellence. In the coffee world, no honor is more sought after. It is given each year to only top coffees from participating coffee-producing countries. Countries that have held Cup of Excellence competitions include Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Rwanda. Honduras’ national coffee association, IHCAFE, launched its country’s competition in 2004. Last year, Honduras’ Cup of Excellence winners included 11 coffees grown by farmers whose cooperatives received USDA assistance through the Food for Progress Program.