Drug cartels spreading to Honduras

People are dying from hunger in Honduras but nowadays it is also the drug industry that is making attempts on Honduran lives.

Today hardly any country can escape the massive drug trade.
The people involved are millionaires and there is practically no-one who will turn down a nice package of either money or white powder.

The drug trade expanded in Honduras during the 80s when the Sinaloa and Medellin cartels used Ramon Matta Bellesteros - a former Tegucigalpan pool player - who got rid of the traditional mules and instead used Cessna and Turbo Commander airplanes with the ability to land on short landing strips, common in Honduras. Soon the drug barons realized the importance of having a good fleet and incorporated Caravelle, Douglas and DC-6 airplanes as well.

Colombia, Peru and Bolivia remain the principle cocaine and heroin producers of the world. In the years 1993-1994 they sent their merchandise to Honduras and Guatemala where it was re-packed and disguised behind strange company names like Centroamericana Agricola and Valencia Import and Export.

The concepts of a narco-state and a narco-fortune are very present in Latin America today. There exists a fear among the controlling organizations of many developed countries of risking their image by asking questions about the origin of the fortunes of foreign politicians and businessmen doing important operations in their banks.

In the past Honduras used to support her national police, acquiring second-hand police equipment in excellent condition from the US completely free of charge. Today the focus of attention has been switched to lower risk departments, such as the traffic police.

In the light of all of this, there is little we can do, considering that our policemen make less than $200 a month and that our politicians are used to constantly violating the law. What can we do with a government that sees its position as an opportunity to make money rather than a democratic administration? Sadly, there isn't much we can do whilst our country is run by the same few people with the same interests.

Dear Editor,

Violent crime in Honduras is a part of life, as it is in many countries. It is something that we read about in the newspapers and see on television daily. Sadly, after a while we develop a tendency to have our hearts hardened by the inevitability of it all.

How in the world do you keep human beings from hurting and killing their brothers and sisters?

If it is true that we are all connected in very real physical and spiritual senses, then it should follow that we must live in peace with each other or live in continual conflict. Ultimately, whenever one of us suffers, we all suffer. Undoubtedly, when one of us dies a piece of each of us dies.

Most of the suffering and death on this planet does not directly affect us (or so we think). And so it is easy to allow the "heart hardening" to proceed unabated. After all, what can we really do about all the tragedy that surrounds us?

Violent crime seems particularly difficult to address because it so often happens in a random manner. We are not surprised whenever it happens to "someone else". We seldom expect it to happen to us or to someone we know and love. Whenever it does, we are suddenly torn away from our comfortable world and forced to experience a pain that serves to remind us of the bond that we share with each other. That bond is not limited to our close circle of family and friends, but it is there that we feel it most deeply.

A few days ago, my father lost a dear cousin to a violent crime in Tegucigalpa, a cousin who was actually more like the brother my father never had. My uncle, whom we affectionately called "Tio Willie", was walking in his neighborhood one evening when he saw some men attacking two women. In the process of trying to help the women, my uncle was shot and killed.

I heard of my uncle's death while waiting to catch a plane out of Colorado Springs. I was overcome by shock, sadness and emotion. I felt tightness and emptiness in the pit of my stomach. I felt dizzy.

What can you do when you receive such news? You accept it, you try to understand (though you can't), and you go on with your life. But you do so a slightly changed person.

As I walked to my departure gate, I experienced a moment of fear, a few seconds of anger and then hopelessness. I thought, "What's the use in trying to make a difference in Honduras? Why not just disengage from the country of my birth, the land of my soul?" Keep things simple - go to my office and earn my paycheck, care for my family, enjoy my friends, go on vacation, stay healthy and grow old comfortably.

I must say that at that precise moment, I experienced clarity. I felt energized by a new sense of purpose in Honduras. My uncle gave his life to help someone in need. It was the ultimate gift that one human being can give to another. My uncle had a choice. He could have turned away and perhaps saved his life. But he chose a different path, and one that suggests to us how we should live our lives.

People in need are all around us in Honduras. Just walk out your door.

The point is not necessarily to always intervene in cases of crime like my uncle did. The point is to engage daily with people who need our help, and to do so without fear, without cynicism, without judgment, but rather with full certainty and unbridled compassion.

Life is not as complicated as we often make it out to be. In the end, it is about giving of ourselves, even when it hurts the most. It is about not letting our hearts be hardened to the so-called "inevitability of it all."

The founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, preached: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."

This is the manner in which my uncle lived his life, and it is the way that he closed the chapter on the physical part of his journey.

I would like to dedicate the seventh annual Conference on Honduras (http://www.projecthonduras.com
/conference) to Guillermo Valle Becerra, whose presence I feel guiding my hand and my thoughts .

Marco Cáceres
Via Internet

The need for Freedom of Information

A 54 article-long Transparency Law, bringing to light the information that until this day has been kept from the public, is soon to be discussed in Congress.

In a book published in 1899, The National Catalogue of Honduras, you can read in the chapter on Liberty: "The expression of thoughts, orally or in writing, is free, and cannot be limited by the law. Neither can the law prohibit the circulation of national and foreign printed material."

According to the first article of the proposed bill, the aim of the new law is to guarantee the principle of publicity of governmental acts; oblige the State to render account; guarantee the protection of personal information; and to ensure a democratic system by guaranteeing citizens' participation in public decision-making.

These general objectives don't mention the classification of the documentation concerning national sovereignty and the internal and external security of the country. Still, this law will finally lessen the insecurity that those in power have created by concealing their documentation. The last four governments of Honduras have cleaned up paper trails of their acts, to make it categorically impossible to denounce or press charges against anyone.

Without a doubt, there are honorable public officials who have been intimidated by accountants, who count the commas instead of looking at the results and tend to look for scandals rather than criminal acts. There are a lot of lawyers in the public administration, put there to legalize different schemes, when what we need are experts who would provide a higher quality management and obtain better returns.

There are some doubts surrounding, the new Transparency Law and it should be compared to the preexisting laws since they might not be compatible. Also, we must make sure that Hondurans can access public information without having to hire lawyers, since the relation between the citizens and the government is personal and should not be delegated. The current system not only costs a lot of money, but hinders the communication process between the government and the people.

Dear Editor,

On April 2nd, the community of West End had a fundraiser in order to build a mini police station in West End.

The community has acquired land, had building plans made and come to an agreement with the National Police.

A total of $3000 was collected through donations from residents and generous tourists.

Around $20,000 more is needed.

With all of the taxes collected from the 50 or so businesses in West End (both sales tax and municipal taxes), I can't help by wondering where the help from the central government is? With the increased popularity West End is experiencing by the trifecta of tourists, drug dealers and petty thieves, one would imagine that a police station would be a priority.

Why should such a Mecca for tourists and divers be left to fend for themselves? It is my opinion that if certain members of the community had not shown the innovative, nothing would ever have happened and this in itself is a crime.

Aaron Etches
West End Business Owner
Via Internet

Dear Editor,

It was with great concern that we learned of the plan to discuss the new Law for the Protection of Forest Areas in such a short timeframe.

We at Marcha por la Vida (March for Life) fear that without more time to debate the issue a law will be passed that will change or destroy many of the aspects of the law that we hold dear.

Without a better knowledge of the matter at hand, those voting to pass the law will do so without any awareness of the consequences.

The current legislation protects both foresters and the natural resource they work with, while the new law practically gives carte blanche for deforestation, which would be disastrous on an environmental level, and would furthermore put the water supplies of rural communities at risk.

We made these concerns clear to Roberto Micheletti, the President of Congress, in a letter dated January 30th, but it seems he has turned a blind eye to our justified petition, and he is content instead to rush through such an important law in a matter of weeks.

His stand means one of two things: That the law is so well-known by all the members of Congress that it will take only a weekend to pass it.

Or that the issues have been glazed over entirely and that all the members of Congress will be required to do is raise their hands.

We are inclined to believe that the latter is the more likely; it is impossible that all the legislators are completely au fait with the contents of the law, since it is some 120 pages long and the issues involved are very complex.

We do not call into doubt the intellectual capacity of the members of Congress but even people used to legal and technical terminology would take years fully to understand the impact of such a law on the country.

We now make a plea to all legislators that they think deeply over the responsibility that they now wield; the passing of this law could bring about the destruction of natural resources and plunge the country into social disarray.

Marcha Nacional por la Vida
Via Internet

Malnutrition weakening the future of Honduras

Very few people in Honduras are familiar with malnutrition. That is why we should listen with great interest to what Becky Santos, wife of the Vice President, has to say. She has dedicated herself to this sensitive issue affecting at least 44% of Honduran children.

A third of the world's population are children and a third of those children suffer from malnutrition. The highest rates are found in Yemen and Bangladesh but Guatemala and Honduras are not far behind.

Protein-energy malnutrition is found in Asia, Latin America, the Near East and Africa. It is defined as the insufficient intake of both protein and energy.

One of the major causes of malnutrition in a tropical country such as Honduras is infections. Other causes are the inappropriate use of breast-milk substitutes, low calorie intake, and the lack of knowledge of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of a child's life.

Also the premature birth of a child and consequential low birth weight can cause malnutrition. Furthermore, in poor countries such as Honduras, the premature death of a mother could have fatal consequences since her children might not be fed breast milk during their first six months.

It is not always evident that a child is malnourished. In general, malnourished children isolate themselves and tend to stay in one single position. They are easily irritated and often have a sad expression on their face. Paradoxically, they don't have much appetite.

According to the World Bank malnutrition in Honduras has dropped from 44 percent in 1987 to 33 percent in 2001. According to the same bank, the number should have dropped to 19 percent by 2015.

But for this to become a reality there is a need for political will.

This evil, which can be hard de detect and kills without prior notice, exposes the future inhabitants of our country. Unfortunately, this social catastrophe has too many variables, too many social components, for it to be easily addressed, especially since there often seems to be little or no will to work for the future of our country. That is why we should listen to Becky Santos.

Dear Editor,

Another year and more forest fires. It used to be said that it was an annual ritual for the indigenous people to start these fires in order to add potash to the soil. However, the people who start these fires have no intentions of planting new corn or vegetables. They are solely malevolent. These fires even destroy other people's crops which had already been planted; and they destroy the young seedlings, which the Honduran forests need so badly.

These fires not only are injurious to people's health; they are extremely bad for the economy. They make highway travel hazardous and at times shut down the flight operations at the country's airports.

Television stations will send their photographers to take pictures for the evening news. Newspapers will put pictures on the front page and write articles about the fires. The government will do nothing. In fact, Hondurans will do nothing, even though they constantly express "how much they love their country."

One remembers many administrations in the past, when a proposal was made to that administration that would provide a remedy to handle the situation. The USAID was approached and they expressed interest in funding the program.

These forest fires occur at a time when the danger of such fires in the Western United States is very low. Consequently, the airplanes that carry the water and fire-retardant chemicals used in forest-fire-fighting are grounded. These planes cover the area in states like California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington - all of which are larger than Honduras.

The program would entail using one or two of these planes. In addition, there are personnel carrying helicopters, such as: the UH1- Iroquois, which could fly in the necessary fire-fighting personnel and equipment to fight the fire and stop it from spreading when it starts, not after it has burned mountainsides. The helicopters could also fly in military personnel to arrest the people who started the fires and stop them from re-starting them.

The first time this was proposed CODEHFOR, a new department which had recently been enacted by the legislature; the executive department of the government; the military; and the air-force - all argued for the control of the program. Consequently, USAID withdrew its interest.

This may not be the solution, but, at least, it is more than what any Honduran is doing for the country.

James McCarthy
Gringo Olanchano
Via Internet

Dear Editor,

I was peacefully walking my dog on Friday afternoon, March 17th. We were walking along the dirt road on the south side of the Copan River, going toward Hacienda San Lucas, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a speeding car without plates appeared and hit my dog. Naturally, I was quite upset.

The driver turned right, and parked on the gravel along the river bank, exited the car with a beer in his hand and pistol in his waistband, and ordered me to come to his car.

I recognized him immediately as a young local punk. I told him that if he had something to say, he could come to me. As he approached me, it was obvious that he was completely drunk and out of control.

I told him that I was going to the traffic police to report him, because next time he may kill a child. He said that if I reported him, he would kill me.

When I arrived at the police station, my complaint was treated with indifference. No one bothered to write down anything that I had to say, they just called the patrol car on the radio, and passed the buck. I repeated my story a second time for the officer in the patrol car, but he didn't seem too interested either.

During the weekend, after learning that the same guy had spent Saturday night in jail for threatening someone else with his pistol, I decided to bring the matter to the attention of the local authorities. After all, how long would it take him to actually kill someone?
I decided to visit the juez de la paz (justice of the peace) who advised me that the best way to handle the matter was for me to "talk" to the person who threatened me. She asked me what I expected her to do. I told her that she should put him in jail, before he actually does kill somebody. There was an uncomfortable silence.

Every day, crime is rapidly increasing in Copan Ruinas. There are more killings and more assaults on tourists. You can no longer feel safe walking the streets at night in town. This is occurring because of official negligence. The delinquents know that they can perpetrate crime without suffering any real consequences to speak of. I can only wonder how long it will take before delinquency has a serious impact on tourism here?

Jesse Jamison
Copan Ruinas
Via Internet 

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