Honduras’ major drug trafficking groups – like the Cachiros and the Valles – have largely been dismantled with the arrest and extradition of top leaders, but vestiges of these clans continue to operate. Political power brokers also have ties to drug smuggling and have even run trafficking operations themselves. The MS13 and Barrio 18 street gangs control urban neighborhoods in the country’s two major cities – Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula – and rural towns close to the border with El Salvador.
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Honduras Profile
Honduras is one of the most important drug trafficking operation centers between South America and Mexico. 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. Since the end of the last decade, political protection has allowed the traditional drug trafficking groups to flourish. Testimony provided by drug traffickers and Honduran politicians on trial in the United States have revealed the deep-seated connection between organized crime and the governing National Party.
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The US is losing allies in Latin America just as production of cocaine, fentanyl, and other synthetic drugs is going through the roof.
Honduras declared a state of exception as extortion cases rise, suspending constitutional rights in cities and deploying thousands of troops.
Honduras has freed dozens of individuals tied to organized crime a year after reforming its money laundering law.
Corruption, no supervision, and poor legislation have led to Latin American military weapons ending up in criminal hands.
Extortion in the Northern Triangle is predominantly done from prisons, yet prison populations have been on the rise.
As world leaders met for the United Nations General Assembly, Latin American presidents expressed various concerns about organized crime.

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