NEWS
Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández is found guilty of drug trafficking in the U.S.
A 12-person jury found former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández guilty of drug trafficking and weapons possession charges after a two-week trial in the U.S. Hernández led a drug cartel as president, turning Honduras into a narco-state. The judge is expected to pronounce sentence on June 26, 2024.
Who are the Copán politicians mentioned by Ardón Soriano in the trial against the former president of Honduras?
Alexander Ardón Soriano, the ex-mayor of El Paraíso, Copán, played a pivotal role in initiating the trial against Juan Orlando Hernández. He admitted in court to acting as a mediator between Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, head of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the former president, and confessed to financially supporting the latter’s campaign with over a million dollars. Additionally, Ardón detailed the mechanics of vote buying in Copán, implicating current deputies and mayors from the department.
“Tiger Bonilla” purged the police to remove his competition: Minister Sanchez on XSpace
In anticipation of the upcoming trial of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on charges related to drug trafficking, Honduras is examining how organized crime affects the country. Additionally, it scrutinizes the implications of the relationship between the United States, the former president, and the process of purging the police force. To delve into these matters, Contracorriente held an XSpace entitled “Narco-state on Trial”, with writer and analyst Óscar Estrada as guest. Security Minister Gustavo Sanchez was in the audience and also participated in the discussion.
Narco-highway intensifies land conflict in La Moskitia, Honduras
Despite recognition from international organizations of Honduras’ efforts to protect La Moskitia, a remote jungle region in the easternmost department of Gracias a Dios, the Miskito, Tawahka, Pech and Garífuna people are still vulnerable to deforestation, violence and forced displacements. A commission responsible for ensuring land is returned to these Indigenous groups has made little progress since its creation in 2019, while an illegal highway threatens the region, which should be protected by the State.
MULTIMEDIA
Indecency in the Open
Alexis Carrasco is sculpting Gallery, his other self. He has been doing it for ten years and is already an expert craftsman of the exhausting and painful work of momentarily transforming himself into a woman. First is the structure: foam rubber breasts, hips, and buttocks. That is the marble on which he sculpts his work.
Chamelecón: Neglected people rebuild
Approximately 350 families from the sector of Chamelecón are seeking refuge underneath a bridge; shelters are not an option. The families hope to avoid both flooding and the violence of the gangs who control their community.
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IN DEPTH INVESTIGATION
Featured Investigation
The carbon offset project promoted in Honduras’ La Moskitia in the absence of consultations with Indigenous peoples
A carbon offset project in Honduras’ La Moskitia has set off alarms among a faction of Indigenous Miskito authorities, who claim that there was no prior consultation. This project, which has been promoted by the Spanish non-governmental organization Ayuda en Acción and designed by the Swiss company South Pole sparked concern at Verra, the U.S.-based certifying standards body that rejected its approval due to the absence of a consultation with local communities and doubts about the validity of data presented in its documents. This case underscores that while President Xiomara Castro promised to protect environmentally valuable areas by allowing Honduras to enter global carbon markets, some of these projects have been put in motion without consulting Indigenous peoples, who should be the main beneficiaries.
The uniform of criminals and the state of emergency in Honduras
These are screams or whispers from people who have been abused, robbed, kidnapped, tortured and disappeared by alleged police officers during the state of emergency in Honduras. Authorities claim they are not to blame but rather criminal groups who impersonate police officers. However, victims hold the State responsible, and both the National Human Rights Commission (CONADEH) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have documented hundreds of complaints against State security forces.
Long-awaited and partial justice for Honduran political refugee in the U.S.
Monserrat is the daughter of Margarita Murillo, a Honduran leading activist who was involved in campesino movements until her murder in 2014. She arrived in the U.S. after receiving death threats for seeking justice for her mother and has been living as a political refugee in New York ever since. During the trial against former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, a witness mentioned Marlene Banegas, a Honduran prosecutor who was murdered after receiving information that exposed Hernández’ ties to the drug trade. Banegas was also investigating Murillo’s murder.
An imposed refoundation
Hondurans euphorically relived celebrations of the November 2021 elections, which had the highest voter turnout in recent history, when former President Juan Orlando Hernández was apprehended in February 2022. Hernández was prosecuted in the U.S. and is now awaiting trial for drug trafficking charges. However, hope for a possible way out of a prolonged political crisis to a period of democratization quickly turned to frustration, a change that began in National Congress when the new administration took office.
Central American and Palestinian Liberation Struggles are Intertwined
The past four months have been one that has further exposed the farce of the “Western” world order we live in. The State of Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, with the backing of North American and European “democracies” while people all over the world bear witness to endless massacres and dehumanization live streamed on social media platforms.
Will we be able to heal our wounds after this trial?
Amilcar Alexander Ardón Soriano walked to the witness stand, beneath the solemn gaze of Judge Castel, presiding over the trial that is still an open wound within all Hondurans. A wound that cannot be explained, yet has fractured us, leading us to address—or rather, complicate—every issue with a relentless cycle of dispossession.
Abigaíl Galindo’s last photographs
In the image captured thirty years ago, four women engaged in sex work wait for clients on a park bench in Comayagüela, under a tree. From left to right pose Gaby Spanik, Bessy Ferrera, Abigaíl Galindo and Michelle: four important figures in the trans movement in Honduras. The night is dense, their gazes piercing.
Colorless Corals Pose a Grave Warning for Honduran Reefs
Honduras’ last Garifuna refuge
