HomeNewsBriefHonduras Expands Military Police by 50%
BRIEF

Honduras Expands Military Police by 50%

HONDURAS / 13 NOV 2014 BY DAVID GAGNE EN

Honduras is adding 1,000 new officers to its military police, while the president is pushing Congress to enshrine the force in the constitution, in the government's increasingly militarized approach to public security.

The new troops will join the 2,000 current members of the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) who have been deployed to fight crime, reported La Tribuna

Meanwhile, on November 10 President Juan Orlando Hernandez called on the Honduran Congress to approve a measure that would elevate the military police to the country's constitution. Congress has until January 20 to ratify the reform.

The military police officers have all served at least a year in the military before they undergo training for the force, according to spokesperson Santos Nolasco. "They are not police, they are soldiers that are specialized in police duties to combat crime in the streets," he said.

The two new battalions will be stationed in the capital city Tegucigalpa as well as the city San Pedro Sula, reported La Tribuna.

InSight Crime Analysis

The addition of 1,000 military police officers, and the government's efforts to elevate the military police to the constitution, demonstrate Honduras' reliance on the military in domestic security. In November 2011, Honduras passed an emergency decree allowing the military to conduct arrests and carry out searches, which was extended in March 2012. In August of that year, Congress approved the creation of an elite military police force known as the "Tigers" designed to fight organized crime in the country.

Honduras further institutionalized the use of the military in domestic security by creating the PMOP in August 2013, tasking the military police force with taking over security in areas controlled by street gangs, combating organized crime, and making arrests. 

SEE ALSO: Honduras News and Profile

The militarization of domestic security in Honduras -- a central tenet of President Juan Orlando Hernandez' "iron fist" security strategy -- could increase the risk of human rights abuses by security forces who are trained for war scenarios, not for keeping the peace. In May 2014, 108 members of the US Congress signed a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry calling on him to urge the Honduran government to end the use of the military in law enforcement, and stating that the military police had committed abuses, including raiding the home of an opposition activist.

Honduras is not alone in militarizing its domestic security. In recent years, governments across Latin America have resorted to deploying military forces to combat rising levels of violence and crime, which have often led to the disproportionate use of lethal force against civilians. Recent examples include the extrajudicial killing of at least 15 individuals by the Mexican army in June, and a report stating that law enforcement officers -- the vast majority military police -- killed on average six people per day in Brazil over the last five years.

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

COLOMBIA / 5 SEP 2023

Negotiations between Colombia and armed groups do not demand ceasefire between feuding criminal factions, and civilians remain caught in the…

COCAINE / 22 FEB 2023

The conviction of Genaro García Luna is a big victory for US law enforcement institutions. But problems remain in the…

ELITES AND CRIME / 11 SEP 2023

Deadlock over attorney general selection in Honduras underscores the political obstacles to the country's justice system.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…