Honduras did not experience civil war in the 1980s, but its geography (bordering El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua) made it a key location for US military operations: training Salvadoran soldiers, a base for Nicaraguan contras, military exercises for US troops. The notorious Honduran death squad Battalion 316 was created, funded and trained by the US. The state-sponsored terror resulted in the forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of approximately 200 people during the 1980s. Many more were abducted and tortured. The 2009 military coup d’etat spawned a resurgence of state repression against the civilian population that continues today. We continue to pray and act on behalf of the people of Honduras during this volatile time.
The incumbent president (Juan Orlando Hernández) is claiming victory in the November 26, 2017 election. The people disagree. There have been mass protests claiming fraud. Demonstrators across the country of 8 million people have been met by state violence, resulting in severe human rights violations, including at least 30 killed, many more injured, and hundreds arrested—many of them detained in military posts. The president has ordered a state of siege and nighttime curfew.
POPULATION
