Honduras will deploy the military in 7 departments to fight crime

( Spanish) — The Government of Honduras reported this Monday that it will send an undetermined number of soldiers to seven departments of the country to fight crime, within the framework of the state of emergency decreed by President Xiomara Castro at the end of 2022.

The measure, approved last week and which the Government called the “second stage of the National Security Plan Solution against Crime (SCC)”, has a duration of six months.

The Secretary of State for National Defense reported on Monday in Twitter that the Honduran Army, Air Force and Naval Force will carry out security tasks in the departments of Colón, Olancho, El Paraíso and Gracias a Dios, while the Military Police will carry out operations in Atlántida, Yoro and Copán.

This second phase will have several goals including “to end drug trafficking and crime and capture the leaders of maras and gangs,” declared José Manuel Zelaya, Secretary of National Defense during the presentation that took place in Campo de Parada Marte in Tegucigalpa.

The measure has received criticism from human rights organizations, among others. Also from the resident coordinator of the United Nations in Honduras, Alice Shackelford, who manifested on Sunday his concern on Twitter. “We remain committed to supporting an approach of prevention, citizen security, and dialogue between various sectors to build democracy, social peace, and development in Honduras,” she wrote.