Honduras sends police to the streets in fight against gangs
By Gustavo, Palencia, Marvin and Valladares
July 19 (Reuters) -After a month of an "iron fist" policy aimed at fighting rampant drug- and gang-related crime, Honduras police say they have seized hundreds of guns and arrested alleged gang members.
Under this hardline approach called "mano duro" in Spanish, Honduran President Xiomara Castro has used emergency powers to designate gang members as terrorists and send security forces into crime-ridden neighborhoods.
She plans to jail over 20,000 inmates in a new mega-prison.
The strategy is a lighter version of neighboring El Salvador's tactics. There, President Nayib Bukele has also suspended constitutional rights, implemented mass trials and incarcerated around 2% of the adult population and thousands of minors.
In Honduras, there is widespread skepticism whether the government will be able to emulate the results in El Salvador, where crime rates plummeted and life has been transformed.
"Unfortunately they have extended the (emergency) measure to obtain results, but we ask ourselves: What results did the police really expect and what results do citizens expect?" said lawyer and security analyst Saul Bueso.
"They say massacres have decreased, that assaults in places have decreased, but when we read the papers we see massacres and murders continue."
Residents who have seen previous governments fail with hardline tactics remain unconvinced.
"Iron fist? Don't believe it," said resident Norma Ochoa in the capital Tegucigalpa, where patrols routinely pass. "In terms of murders, death, crime, in so many things we are suffering and today, God is the only one who sustains us."
Reporting by Gustavo Palencia and Marvin Valladares in Honduras; Writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
