Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. The violence is carried out by local drug trafficking groups, gangs, corrupt security forces and transnational criminal organizations mainly from Mexico and Colombia.
Cattle from Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua help feed the domestic beef markets of each of these countries. The processed byproducts of some of…
the jungle region known as La Mosquitia in northeast Honduras has been an ideal corridor for international drug trafficking. However, another criminal economy has emerged at the same time: illegal…
The US has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of leaders of the Montes Bobadilla drug clan - a Honduran transport group that has showcased…
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.
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.
The indictment of former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández has revealed that he is accused of receiving millions in drug money from traffickers, using it to commit voter fraud in…
Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández has been extradited to the United States, drawing to a close a shocking saga in which he went from a top US ally to…
Juan Orlando Hernández, Honduras’ former president, is facing trial on US drug charges after allegations that he received bribes to protect traffickers.
Coca farms and cocaine production camps are proliferating in Honduras, showing that the illicit crop has taken root in the country after years of low-level experimentation.
The 2021 ranking of the world's most violent cities predictably features a heavy presence by Latin American and Caribbean population centers. The top eight are all in Mexico and the…
The arrest and possible extradition of a former Honduras police chief suspected of drug trafficking could provide explosive evidence in the case against recently-detained former president Juan Orlando Hernández –…
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