Honduras: History, Crime, and Consequences
History
Honduras is situated between Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Most of the population tends to live in the mountains, which is generally quite isolated. It is a developing nation, with significant economic and social challenges, as well as climate challenges as it tends to have occasional violent tropical storms. Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which was the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, is an example. Honduras has been inhabited by the Mayans, but now consists of mestizo and POC’s. Mestizos are about nine-tenths of the population and are of Spanish and Indian decent, the POC’s are of West Indian and Garifuna origin. Most Hondurans speak Spanish and are Roman Catholics. In the mid-20th century, the population grew extremely fast, leading to issues regarding employment and housing. In 2022, 30% of Hondurans is under 15 years old, 29% is between 15 and 29, meaning that 59% of Hondurans are below 30. Almost half of them live in rural villages. The other half in cities, like Tegucigalpa, leading to the city having significant overcrowding, air and water pollution, as well as rising crime rates.
Honduras is a poor country, with the majority of Hondurans working under extremely difficult conditions. Most of its export and import in 2022 goes to and comes from the US. It has a big agricultural sector employing about two-fifths of the labour force, yet this area is only one-tenth of its GDP. Chiquita and Dole, both US corporations, hold a disproportionate amount of the country’s agricultural land, explaining the lack of GDP. Honduras also exports coffee beans, tobacco, beef, GMO corn, and sugarcane. Moreover, it has extensive pine forests that it is currently depleting. It also has mineral resources like silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper, amongst others.
It is a democratic country, electing its head of state directly by popular vote. They currently have a woman as president: Xiomara Castro. She was elected on an anti-corruption platform and promised change. In the past, the Liberals had encouraged foreign investment and economic growth, yet Honduras is still the poorest state in Central America. This is partly due to policies that disincentivise nearshoring and threaten the property rights of direct foreign investment, as well as diplomatic relations with China, and a nepotistic governance style. Honduras is, for example, an ally of the Venezuelan socialist government as well as the dictatorships in Nicaragua and Cuba.
Mistrust in Institutions and Growing Crime
Recently Honduras has promised to end extradition treaty with the US. The Honduran President Xiomara Castro accused the US with meddling in her country’s affairs, calling it intolerable. This might be linked to the Castro family being linked to criminal networks. Castro has been accused of facilitating drug trafficking and bribery. This tradition is not new, as recently, Juan Orlando Hernández, which is the ex-president of Honduras, received a sentence of 45 years in prison for drug crime.
There is a growing trend of mistrust in institutions and political violence, with new violence thought to occur in the 2025 elections. The USIP is anticipating the rise of political stagnation, institutional degradation and consequently, the rise of populist movements and heightened electoral violence. In 2021, the rise of dis- and misinformation led to a spread of violence and an increase in personal attacks on opponents. Not being dissimilar to Castro today, who has gone after local organisations and opponents, claiming their involvement in planning a coup.
Crime is not new in Honduras either as it is one of the most violent countries in the world. In 2022, Honduras had a homicide rate of 38 per 100.000 people, being the second highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. The violence stems from an endless cycle of corruption, a weak justice system with impunity, and crime and violence. Gangs and drug traffickers tend to pay off police, prosecutors and judges, leading them to get away with crimes. Without the functionality of a justice system, crime and violence is rampant. Importantly, murders are rarely held accountable. This in turn, lead to more violence and crime. It also has the highest femicide rate in Latin America, with 6.62 women dying per 100.000 people.
Importantly, women and girls fall into gangs as much as boys and men. There does not seem to be any discrimination regarding gender when it comes to the gang leaders, more ‘(wo)man power’ is clearly what is after. We had Ellen van Damme on the podcast to discuss the impact of violence, gangs, and crime on women, young children, and families, which can be found on episode 207.