Honduras - November 2022

On 24 November the Honduran government announced a new strategy to counter high levels of extortion in the country. The new strategy includes the implementation of a state of emergency in several neighbourhoods and the use of emergency powers to investigate and detain those suspected of committing extortion. This includes the suspension of due process guarantees with a view to end widespread extortion against those who work in transportation (such as taxi and bus operators). The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras has pointed out that disadvantaged and marginalized communities primarily live in such neighbourhoods, and thus the need for an adequate social policy that targets the root causes of violence and provides a long term and sustainable solution to it.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Univision