HomeNewsBriefHonduras Indigenous, Tribal Lands Hard-Hit by Drug Trade
BRIEF

Honduras Indigenous, Tribal Lands Hard-Hit by Drug Trade

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 25 JUN 2014 BY KYRA GURNEY EN

Recent reports have identified indigenous groups in Honduras as some of the most affected by the expansion of drug trafficking operations, illustrating the debilitating effects criminal migration and weak law enforcement have on one of the region's most vulnerable populations.

Drug trafficking groups in Honduras are taking over tribal lands and clearing them to make clandestine landing strips for drug flights, cutting off indigenous access to areas used to obtain food and sustain a traditional lifestyle, reported Al Jazeera

Tribal leaders interviewed by Al Jazeera said there were at least 39 operational landing strips on their land, some of which received two to three flights a week. 

The presence of drug trafficking groups has also led to an increase in deforestation perpetrated by ranchers, palm oil growers and loggers in areas previously protected by local tribes, including wilderness reserves, the news report said.

SEE ALSO: Honduras News and Profiles

It is a regional phenomenon. A study published in Science magazine in January found that drug trafficking had accelerated deforestation in parts of Central America, with deforestation "hot spots" corresponding to drug transit hubs in several areas including eastern Honduras. 

The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in eastern Honduras -- which is home to three different indigenous groups -- has been especially hard-hit by drug trafficking.  In 2011, UNESCO placed the area on its World Heritage List in Danger due to logging, fishing, and land occupation by suspected traffickers operating in the area.    

InSight Crime Analysis

There are many reasons these areas are attractive to traffickers. First, they are remote. There are few roads to the Mosquito Coast, the area along the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and Honduras covered in the Al Jazeera report. Most traffic moves via a series of rivers or along the coastline. The remoteness of the area has also contributed to the increase in drug flights coming from South America

Second, the indigenous groups have established their communities in rural areas, have little state presence and distrust authorities. For all of these reasons, the chances the groups will complain to the police or the military are small.   

Third, security crackdowns in Mexico have led to an increase in drug trafficking through Central America, with the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador especially impacted by organized crime and violence. 

Fourth, Honduras, as a whole, is very unstable, corrupt and has incredibly weak institutions. Political instability created by a 2009 military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya exacerbated the situation, further debilitating an already weak state presence.

Honduras is currently the most violent country in the world outside a war zone, with the United Nations reporting a 2012 homicide rate of 90.4 per 100,000, and has a significant presence of drug trafficking organizations. An estimated 140 to 300 tons of cocaine are believed to transit through the country each year. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

HUMAN RIGHTS / 14 JUL 2021

The new Netflix series, “Somos.,” (We Are), offers a respectful but powerful look at the Allende massacre, one of the…

CACHIROS / 21 APR 2022

Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández has been extradited to the United States, drawing to a close a shocking saga…

FEATURED / 27 OCT 2022

In Sinaloa, Mexico, the uptick in forced disappearances is linked to one dynamic more than any other: synthetic drugs.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…