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.
A new report suggests women are increasingly playing an active role in the extortion activities of Central American gangs -- part of a larger pattern in which women's roles in…
A string of bumper cocaine seizures on the Honduras Atlantic has provided a stark reminder of the region's importance in the transnational drug trade.
A judge in the United States sentenced the brother of Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández to life in prison for drug trafficking, closing one case but increasing tensions between the…
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 seizure in Mexico of COVID-19 vaccine smuggled aboard a private plane linked to a Honduran textile magnate marks the first instance of alleged transnational vaccine smuggling in Latin America…
Usually loath to name sitting presidents in criminal cases, prosecutors in the United States have made an exception for Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, painting a clear picture of him…
Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández once again stole the limelight in a major drug trafficking trial in the United States, raising serious doubts about future cooperation between the countries.
Eight Democratic senators have sent the first signals that the United States will divorce itself from Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández amid mounting allegations of drug trafficking, saying in a…
Drug traffickers engage in a creative game of hide and seek with coast guards and other security forces that board their ships at sea.
Following the capture of some of its biggest criminal names, organized crime in Honduras has gone through a metamorphosis that has opened the door to ambitious politicians and gangs alike.
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