honduras crime and safety report 2020 honduras crime and safety report 2020

The Public Ministry created a new anticorruption unit, the Special Prosecution Unit against Corruption Networks, which is charged with pursuing MACCIH legacy corruption cases. By August it had provided protection to two journalists, among other types of activists and human rights defenders. These reporting centers were in addition to the 298 government-operated womens officesone in each municipalitythat provided a wide array of services to women, focusing on education, personal finance, health, social and political participation, environmental stewardship, and prevention of gender-based violence. The Jewish community numbered approximately 275 members. Although the law prohibits such practices, government officials received complaints and investigated alleged abuses by members of the security forces on the streets and in detention centers. While all formal workers are entitled to social security, there were reports that both public- and private-sector employers failed to pay into the social security system. In January 2020, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Honduran government failed to reach an agreement to renew the mandate of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in . the 2017 Annual Report. The National Interinstitutional Security Force is an interagency command that coordinates the overlapping responsibilities of the national police, military police of public order, National Intelligence Directorate, and Public Ministry during interagency operations. The armed forces, which report to the Secretariat of Defense, are responsible for external security but also exercise some domestic security responsibilities in a supporting role to the national police and other civilian authorities. The law does not authorize pretrial detention for crimes with a maximum sentence of five years or less. A Mosheim man involved in a police pursuit in 2021 resulting in a two-vehicle crash that killed a Greene County woman entered a guilty plea Tuesday to . According to the secretariat, the system had a designed capacity for approximately 10,600 inmates. The government relies heavily on the . As of November the STSS had an insufficient number of inspectors to enforce the law effectively. An IACHR report noted there were insufficient hospital beds and inadequate supplies at the only hospital that services Gracias a Dios Department, home to the majority of the Miskito community. See the Department of States Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html. Such an order may be effective for up to six days, after which the judge must hold a pretrial hearing to examine whether there is probable cause to continue pretrial detention. In January 2020, the president announced the dismantling of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Misin de Apoyo Contra la Corrupcin y la Impunidad en Honduras, MACCIH), which was backed by the Organization of American States (OAS). In 2021, almost 39 homicides were committed per 100,000 inhabitants in Honduras. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Police were investigating the killings. Corruption: On March 13, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered a new trial for former first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo, spouse of former president Porfirio Lobo, who was convicted in August 2019 of fraud and misappropriation of public funds and sentenced to 58 years in prison. A: Fans well remember the 1965-69 adventure series starring Robert Conrad Both the ministry and the commission focused on developing policies to address IDPs. The reported killings took place during law enforcement operations or were linked to other criminal activity by government agents. The combined homicide rate per 100 thousand population remains low, with steep declines in some countries and remaining stable in others. The Human Rights Board condemned some of these arrests as arbitrary under the guise of curfew enforcement. By comparison, the United States has a global safety ranking of 128. Children with disabilities attended school at a lower rate than the general population. Women - Honduras has the fifth-highest rate of violence against women in the world. Authorities arrested Bogran on October 5 and released him on October 8 on bail pending trial. In 2019 the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center NGO estimated there were approximately 247,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country due to violence. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. Five other cases were under investigation. Bernardez was a leader in the Punta Piedra community. The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this right. The Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH) reported 28 cases of alleged torture by security forces through September, while the Public Ministry received three such reports. According to the Violence Observatory, of the 317 reported cases from 2009 through 2019 of hate crimes and violence against members of the LGBTI population, 92 percent had gone unpunished. There were no credible reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities. Honduras is somewhat safe to visit, though it has many dangers. You should be aware that tourist hotspots, public transportation and some streets are places where most thefts and pickpocketing occur, and that violent crime exists on the streets, too. Farmers markets and local food networks aren't new to Minnesota. Deportation, Circular Migration and Organized Crime Honduras Case Study; Download the Publication; Honduras: Information Gathering Mission Report; Violence in Honduras: an Analysis of the Failure in Public Security and the State'S Response to Criminality; Opendocpdf.Pdf; Honduras Elites and Organized Crime; Honduras 2019 Crime & Safety Report The country was a destination for child sex tourism. Persons with HIV and AIDS continued to be targets of discrimination, and they suffered disproportionately from gender-based violence. Displaced Children: Civil society organizations reported that common causes of forced displacement for youth included death threats for failure to pay extortion, attempted recruitment by gangs, witnessing criminal activity by gangs or organized-crime groups, domestic violence, attempted kidnappings, family members involvement in drug dealing, victimization by traffickers, rape including commercial sexual exploitation by gangs, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, sexual harassment, and discrimination for having a chronic medical condition. There is no statutory rape law, but the penalty for rape of a minor younger than 12 is 15 to 20 years in prison, or nine to 13 years in prison if the victim is 13 or older. DIDADPOL investigated abuses by police forces. During the year the National Anticorruption Council reported numerous irregularities in the purchase of emergency medical supplies during the pandemic. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor, c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment, d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation. Corruption, poor governance, and. Many employers discriminated against women. The STSS approved 43 such authorizations through September. On average, children living in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are 10 times more likely to be killed than a child who lives in the United States. That puts Roatan/Honduras a few points ahead of the U.S. Iceland holds the number one rated position and Afghanistan holds last place, ranked at 163. The penalties for rape range from three to nine years imprisonment, and the courts enforced these penalties. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The minimum legal age of marriage for both boys and girls is 18. Journalists, environmental activists, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and people with disabilities are among the groups targeted for violence. Health-care workers protested the lack of adequate protective equipment and delayed salary payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. LONDON (AP) Britain's domestic intelligence agency didn't act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a Although it is outside the period of study for this report, it is worth noting that the reduction of penalties for violent crimes against women included in the new Criminal Code (adopted in 2018) sends a contradictory message from the government in its ight . The appeals court ruled the cases of former agriculture minister Jacobo Regalado and three members of his staff should proceed to trial. The STSS is responsible for enforcing the national minimum wage, hours of work, and occupational health and safety law, but it did so inconsistently and ineffectively. Transgender individuals noted their inability to update identity documents to reflect their gender identity. On July 1, unknown assailants on a motorcycle shot and killed television journalist German Vallecillo and cameraman Jorge Posas in La Ceiba. Persons suspected of any of 22 specific felonies must remain in custody, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings against them. Fines for child labor were not sufficient to deter violations and not commensurate with penalties for other analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping. The Association for a Better Life and the Cattrachas Lesbian Network both reported 16 violent deaths of LGBTI persons as of September. Both suspects were alleged members of a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking. The government used pretrial detention centers to hold high-profile suspects and those in need of additional security. Freedom of Speech: The law includes a provision to punish persons who directly or through public media incite discrimination, contempt, repression, or violence against a person, group, or organization for reasons of gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinion or affiliation, marital status, race or national origin, language, nationality, religion, family affiliation, family or economic situation, disability, health, physical appearance, or any other characteristic that would offend the victims human dignity. Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes all forms of rape of women or men, including spousal rape. Honduras is one of the murder capitals of the world. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Honduras, An official website of the United States Government, https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html, https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods. Also see the Department of States Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/. On August 5, an appeals court dismissed charges against 22 defendants indicted in the so-called Pandora case, a 2013 scheme that allegedly funneled 289.4 million lempiras ($12 million) in government agricultural funds to political campaigns. The law provides a maximum sentence of three years in prison for disobeying a restraining order connected with the crime of intrafamilial violence. Honduras: homicide rate 2014-2021. The reports alleged illicit gains of more than 1.64 billion lempiras ($68 million) by government officials in the purchase of medical supplies. A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. The legal framework for granting international protection fails to establish long-term safeguards for recognized refugees, since they are issued the same residence permit as other migration categories. Employers rarely paid the minimum wage in the agricultural sector and paid it inconsistently in other sectors. David Pecker tried to blackmail Bezos in February 2019 with dick pics and so on stolen from his hacked phone and Bezos called him out. On April 2, a private security guard for the sugar company La Grecia shot and killed land rights defender Iris Argentina Alvarez Chavez during a confrontation between land rights defenders and private guards. Major urban centers and drug-trafficking routes experienced the highest rates of violence. The National Migration Institute secretary general, responsible for final case determinations, had not resumed this function as of October. During April, the first full month of the curfew, COFADEH reported 11,471 complaints of arbitrary actions by security forces, mainly abusive detentions for curfew violators. On May 5, the DIDADPOL director noted his office had not received a formal complaint, and he asserted two official police reports from the incident did not corroborate the PBIs account. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. The collapse of this empire left the territories of what we now understand to be Central America, to split off into separate regions. The law requires police to inform persons of the grounds for their arrest and bring detainees before a competent judicial authority within 24 hours. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views, but some human rights organizations criticized government officials for lack of access and responsiveness. In these sectors employers frequently paid workers for the standard 44-hour workweek no matter how many additional hours they worked. The government generally respected these provisions. Safety in El Salvador. The director of Invest-H, Marco Antonio Bogran Corrales, resigned from his position in July and was indicted in October on two corruption charges for embezzling an estimated 1.3 million lempiras ($54,000) in public funds and funneling a contract for mobile hospitals to his uncle. The police will make their situation more difficult. The government did not effectively enforce the law. Although the law generally prohibits such actions, a legal exception allows government authorities to enter a private residence to prevent a crime or in case of another emergency. The Public Ministry reported 15 cases of alleged illegal detention or arbitrary arrest as of November. It also provides for paid national holidays and annual leave. Administration: The judicial system was legally responsible for monitoring prison conditions and providing for the rights of prisoners. Organized-crime groups, including local and transnational gangs and narcotics traffickers, were significant perpetrators of violent crimes and committed acts of homicide, torture, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, intimidation, and other threats and violence directed against human rights defenders, judicial authorities, lawyers, business community members, journalists, bloggers, women, and other vulnerable populations. According to witnesses, the kidnappers wore police investigative branch uniforms. Updated: 7 hours ago. Nam Y. Huh - staff, AP. Political Parties and Political Participation: Civil society and opposition parties accused officials of using government resources to attract voters. This was the result of strong legislation, low cybersecurity exposure (how exposed the digital infrastructure is) and the exceptional top score at the Global Cybersecurity Index, one of the six indices taken . Police arrested Ramon David Zelaya Hernandez on July 4 and Edward David Zalavarria Galeas on July 6 as the two main suspects in the killings. The number of inspections dropped severely from 2019 as a result of the national curfew imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. That is 2,607 fewer homicides. The law prohibits the use of children younger than 18 for exhibitions or performances of a sexual nature or in the production of pornography. The government tasks CONAPREV with visiting prisons and making recommendations for protecting the rights of prisoners. Recent Elections: In December 2017 Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party was declared the winner in the November elections. International observers generally agreed the elections were free but disputed the fairness and transparency of the results. Authorities did not generally segregate those with tuberculosis or other infectious diseases from the general prison population; as of September the INP reported 153 prisoners were being treated for tuberculosis. | Learn more about Daniel Jackson's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn The EU mission agreed there were serious irregularities in the process but concluded that safeguards built into the system, including posting of voting results forms on a public website, helped promote transparency. Penalties for facilitating child sex trafficking are 10 to 15 years in prison, with substantial fines. The law also imposes prison sentences of three to five years for child labor violations that endanger the life or morality of a child. Administrative penalties were insufficient to deter violations and were rarely enforced. The accused has the right to an initial hearing before a judge, to ask for bail, consult with legal counsel in a timely manner, have a lawyer provided by the state if necessary, and request an appeal. The national curfew instituted in response to COVID-19, however, severely limited the freedom of internal movement. On June 19, Garifuna leader Antonio Bernardez was found dead from bullet wounds six days after his disappearance. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2020 was 36.33, a 13.52% decline from 2019. Victims were primarily impoverished individuals in both rural and urban areas (see section 7.c.). The World Bank reported in 2018 that the adolescent birth rate was 72 births per 1,000 15-19-year-olds. CRIME AND INSECURITY IN HONDURAS . Trying again, focused this time on crime, he was . On July 10, unidentified assailants shot and killed transgender activist Scarleth Campbell in Tegucigalpa. Five other cases were under investigation. Nearly 3.3 million people, or one in three Hondurans, were experiencing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity by late 2021. With offices throughout the country, the ombudsman received cases that otherwise might not have risen to national attention. The government took steps to address corruption at high levels in government agencies, including arresting and charging members of congress, judges, prosecutors, sitting and former senior officials, mayors and other local authorities, and police officers. The law provides that police may make arrests only with a warrant unless: they make the arrest during the commission of a crime, there is strong suspicion that a person has committed a crime and might otherwise evade criminal prosecution, they catch a person in possession of evidence related to a crime, or a prosecutor has ordered the arrest after obtaining a warrant. Get full access to the Ojai Valley news and sports coverage, as well as arts and entertainment, opinions and more. The government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations that provide protection and assistance to refugees and other persons of concern. You can add more than one country or area. Women held 21 percent of seats in the National Congress, down from 26 percent prior to the 2017 elections. The law permits strikes by workers in export-processing zones and free zones for companies that provide services to industrial parks, but it requires that strikes not impede the operations of other factories in such parks. In 2020, 278 women were murdered in the country and, as of November 2021, more than. Discrimination: Although the law accords women and men the same legal rights and status, including property rights in divorce cases, many women did not fully enjoy such rights. Estimates of the number of children younger than 18 in the countrys workforce ranged from 370,000 to 510,000. Penalties for violations of OSH law were commensurate with penalties for similar crimes. osac crime and safety report hondurasmary catherine o'shea daughter of virginia mayo. Honduras remains one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the Western Hemisphere. Preliminary data published by the countries in the region comprising Central America and the Dominican Republic shows that there were fewer homicides in 2020 than in 2019. For crimes with minimum sentences of six years imprisonment, the law authorizes pretrial detention of up to two years. Child Abuse: Child abuse remained a serious problem. Although the Interinstitutional Security Force reports to the National Security and Defense Council, it plays a coordinating role and did not exercise broad command and control functions over other security forces except during interagency operations involving those forces. The law does not cover domestic workers. This report provides a snapshot of events during 2021 relevant to countries designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported 1,695 cases of COVID-19 in 25 prisons as of September, including cases among medical personnel, security personnel, and administrators. Forced labor occurred in street vending, domestic service, the transport of drugs and other illicit goods, other criminal activity, and the informal sector. Birth Registration: Children derive citizenship by birth in the country, from the citizenship of their parents, or by naturalization. The law requires overtime pay, bans excessive compulsory overtime, limits overtime to four hours a day for a maximum workday of 12 hours, and prohibits the practice of requiring workers to complete work quotas before leaving their place of employment. Now that we've established a frame of reference, here's the scoop on Roatan. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The legal process against Roberto David Castillo Mejia, one of the alleged intellectual authors of the killing, continued slowly due to motions and appeals by the defense, and Castillo remained incarcerated. Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government agents ; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious restrictions on free expression and On January 10, unknown assailants shot and killed Tolupan indigenous leader Vicente Saavedra in Morazan, Yoro Department. Many inspectors asked workers to provide them with transportation so that they could conduct inspections, since the STSS could not pay for travel to worksites. Prior to the twin shocks of 2020, 25.2 percent of the Honduran population lived in extreme poverty and almost half (4.4 million people) lived in poverty, based on the official poverty lines. The law requiring prisoners to work at least five hours a day, six days a week took effect in 2016. On February 4, media reported unknown assailants shot and killed three National Party local leaders in three separate incidents within five days in Tegucigalpa: Oscar Obdulio Licona Ruiz on January 31 and Dagoberto Villalta and Marcial Martinez on February 4. The grand jury subpoena that has been issued to Pence seeks documents and testimony related to the events of January 6, 2021, when the US Capitol was attacked by pro-Trump rioters as Congress . There were no reports of such cases during the year, although authorities charged some protesters with sedition. The government maintained the Interinstitutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Displaced by Violence and created the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence within the Secretariat of Human Rights. The Federation of Agroindustry Workers Unions reported massive layoffs and cancelation of contracts in the maquila sector during the pandemic without providing welfare benefits. As of September 2020, the US had yet to begin deporting any third country nationals to Honduras under the agreement. The National Prison Institute (INP) reported 12 violent deaths. Significant human rights issues included: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; killings of and threats to media members by criminal elements; criminalization of libel, although no cases were reported; serious acts of corruption including by high level officials; lack of investigation of and accountability for violence against women; and threats and violence against indigenous, Afro-descendant communities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex persons. Homicide Rates in the Northern. Pretrial Detention: Judicial inefficiency, corruption, and insufficient resources delayed proceedings in the criminal justice system, and lengthy pretrial detention was a serious problem. There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. There are 42 categories of monthly minimum wages, based on the industry and the size of a companys workforce; the minimum average was above the poverty line. Censorship or Content Restrictions: Media members and NGOs stated the press self-censored due to fear of retaliation from organized-crime groups or corrupt government officials. As of December 2020, internally displaced people in Honduras represented almost 80 percent of the internally displaced population in Central America and Mexico. Some of the worst forms of child labor occurred, including commercial sexual exploitation of children, and NGOs reported that gangs often forced children to commit crimes, including homicide (see section 6, Children). Local police and emergency services lack sufficient resources to respond effectively to serious crime. The appeals court would have to rule on the motion before the trial could move forward. Internal displacement was generally caused by violence, national and transnational gang activity, and human trafficking. Honduras is a constitutional, multiparty republic. Media reported prison riots and violent confrontations between gang members in prisons throughout the year. Penalties include prison sentences of up to five years and monetary fines. See the Department of States International Religious Freedom Report at https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/. Inspectors suspended inspections in March under the national curfew in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Honduras Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. Nearly two years after passage of a comprehensive labor inspection law in 2017, the STSS released implementing regulations based on extensive consultations with the private sector and unions. Castillo was returning from the market at 3:30 p.m. when a police officer arrested her for violating the curfew, even though the curfew did not start until 7:00 p.m. Castillo said the arrest was a reprisal for an encounter a few days previously, when Castillo confronted the officer who was attempting to expel a vendor from a park. Lori Lightfoot rode into the Chicago mayor's office in 2019 as a reform candidate, offering a break from the city's clubby political scene while making history as the first Black In addition, women experienced delays in accessing justice due to police who failed to process complaints in a timely manner or judicial system officials who deferred scheduling hearings. Below this are an appeals court, first instance trial courts for criminal and civil cases, and municipal and district-level justices of the peace. The Secretariat of Human Rights noted an exponential increase in gender-based violence and domestic violence during the national curfew. The violence is carried out by local drug trafficking groups, gangs, corrupt security forces and transnational criminal organizations mainly from Mexico and Colombia. There is also a Human Rights Committee in the National Congress. The legal age of consent is 18. Due to pandemic restrictions imposed in March, the STSS was very limited in its ability to conduct inspections.