HomeNewsBriefHonduras: Organized Crime Gaining Amid Political Crisis: Wilson Center
BRIEF

Honduras: Organized Crime Gaining Amid Political Crisis: Wilson Center

HONDURAS / 4 FEB 2012 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN

Analyst James Bosworth provides an overview of the dynamics of the drug trade through Honduras and the changing political landscape after the 2009 coup, before exploring how organized crime has thrived in the post-coup landscape.

In "Honduras: Organized Crime Gaining Amid Political Crisis," a working paper for the Woodrow Wilson Center, Bosworth begins by outlining the principal actors involved in Honduras' drug trade, highlighting in particular the role of the Mexican drug trafficking organizations -- the zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel·--·who tend to direct Honduran drug transporters, or "transportistas." Bosworth notes that Honduras' role as a key transit point for cocaine moving from South America to the US is not a new development, but that the drug trafficking organizions present in the country have altered, with Mexican groups overtaking Colombian gangs.

The author then charts the rising violence in the country from 2005 onwards, arguing against an ineffective and counterproductive 2003 anti-gang law. Furthermore, he states, the government seemingly moved to de-prioritizing the fight against organized crime during the administration of Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009).

However, as this excerpt argues:

If the fight against organized crime was minimized under Zelaya, it was completely ignored under [post-coup interim president] Micheletti. Honduras was in a complete political crisis, with protests and counter-protests and with a full time focus on legitimizing the government and maintaining stability. Counterdrug chief Julian Aristides told Reuters at the time that the Micheletti government didn’t even have a strategy to fight organized crime.

The resulting removal of aid by the US following the coup and the general political turmoil enabled organized crime to benefit greatly, according to Bosworth. Mexican drug traffickers, along with others, moved to fill "governance vacuums" created by the coup, and solidify their strongholds in Honduras. The tenuous nature of post-coup elections that brought Porfirio Lobo to power have done nothing to help the situation, Bosworth argues. The growing strength of transnational criminal groups means Honduras needs to prioritize security as it faces, a "long-term stability threat from organized crime."

Click here to read the full report (pdf).

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.

Tags

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

COCA / 19 APR 2022

Coca farms and cocaine production camps are proliferating in Honduras, showing that the illicit crop has taken root in the…

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME / 14 MAY 2021

Both banks of the salty canal near the town of Kaukira show e vestiges of the boom-bust nature of life…

BOLIVIA / 29 DEC 2022

The US is losing allies in Latin America just as production of cocaine, fentanyl, and other synthetic drugs is going…

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…