Honduras Officials Link Hydroelectric Company to Activist's Murder
Honduras authorities captured four men for the March murder of activist Berta Cáceres -- two of which have direct ties to the hydroelectric company she and others have been battling…
Guatemala Authorities Capture Ex-Military Turned Drug Trafficker
Guatemalan authorities, working with the United States government, captured what some are calling the country's largest drug trafficker, a former military officer turned criminal with a reputation for extreme…
Is Honduras' MS13 a Drug Trafficking Organization? An Obscure Fugitive May Have the Answer
An obscure figure connected to the MS13 may hold the key to understanding just how much the street gang has evolved in Honduras, and whether it is really making the…
Prominent El Salvador Businessman Tied to Suspected Drug Planes
The Martin County Sheriff's Office in Florida has filed a probable cause petition asking a judge to ratify the forfeiture of four aircraft authorities say belong to the prominent El…
Lawyers for El Salvador Businessman Deny US Allegations, Attack Journalist
The lawyers for José Enrique Rais, a prominent El Salvador businessman who US authorities tied to suspected drug planes seized in Martin County, Florida, responded to allegations of wrongdoing of…
Honduras Elites and Organized Crime: Introduction
Honduras is currently one of the most violent countries on the planet that is not at war. The violence is carried out by transnational criminal organizations, local drug trafficking groups,…
Honduras Elites and Organized Crime: The Cachiros
As it tends to happen in Honduras, the news began as a well-heeled rumor: Javier Rivera Maradiaga, the oldest of the three Rivera Maradiaga brothers still alive and leader of…
Honduras Elites and Organized Crime: Juan Ramón Matta Ballesteros
On the morning of April 5, 1988, Juan Ramón Matta Ballesteros left his palatial Tegucigalpa estate for a jog. Matta Ballesteros was wanted for murder, drug trafficking and other crimes…
Report: Mexico Assumes Role of Turning Migrant Children Back
Human Rights Watch has chronicled violent drivers of the continuing child migration crisis, as well as how the US government has stealthily outsourced to Mexico the job of returning…
Ex-Honduras President Lobo Confronts Rumors About Him, Family
Former Honduras President Porfirio Lobo denied rumors that he had turned himself in to United States authorities or was facing extradition from Honduras to face charges of drug trafficking in…
Guatemala's CICIG: An Experiment in Motion Gets a Report Card
Two recent reports on Guatemala's CICIG illustrate the international's body's potential to affect powerful shifts in the status quo, as well as its broad limitations.
Elites and Organized Crime: Methodology
This study focuses on four countries: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Colombia. Each presents different challenges and opportunities for research, and makes its own contribution to our snapshot of elite groups…