NATIONAL

Health Ministry may launch female condom

Although machista attitudes mock the idea, health officials say it could enable more women to protect themselves

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- After 10 years of massive campaigns to promote condom use among men, health authorities are now looking at the possibility of introducing female condoms as well. The measure would be part of a wider strategy aimed at preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially AIDS, one of the most serious health problems currently facing Hondurans.

The idea of distributing female condoms emerged at a recent conference in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Mayte Paredes, chief of the Public Health Ministry's STD Project Department, learned of the promising results acceptability studies on this contraceptive device have had in Brazil and the Dominican Republic.

Dr. Cesar Nunez, who works in the same department, says the government does not intent to bring in female condoms right away, but will likely begin feasibility studies soon.

CONDOMS VS AIDS

In 1985 the Public Health Ministry reported four cases of AIDS for every 100,000 Hondurans. By 1996 that number had increased to 711 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In March 1997, the total number of AIDS cases reported in Honduras was 9,239. But experts say many cases go unreported and predict that there are as many as 10 unreported AIDS case for every reported case.

Given the progressive and alarming increase of this fatal disease, the Health Ministry and a number of other organizations have launched a massive campaign emphasizing three different ways to prevent the spread of AIDS. These are abstinence, fidelity to a single sexual partner and the use of the latex condom. While the first two methods are 100 percent effective, Nunez says condoms work 95 percent of the time.

The anti-AIDS campaign has included the production and distribution of educational materials and direct training among sex workers, laborers and students. As a result of these efforts, much of the Honduran population now understands how to prevent the spread of AIDS and other STDs.

"The problem is that there is no correspondence between knowledge and practice," says Nunez.

Studies show that many Honduran men believe it is safer to have sex with a friend than a sex worker. But "the truth is that the risk is present in any relationship where contact is made without protection," Nunez explains.

An average of seven million condoms are distributed and sold in Honduras each year. If two million Hondurans are sexually active and half of these are men, that means every sexually active man has access to only seven condoms per year. The latest national poll of family health practices revealed that only 10 percent of Hondurans use condoms consistently.

"It is definitely a very valuable tool in reducing the transmission of the HIV virus and other STDs," says Nunez. But he recognizes that there is still a lot of work to be done.

ONE MORE OPTION

The female condom was invented several years ago in England and has since gained a certain amount of popularity in developed countries.

"The female condom was conceived as an instrument of negotiation that empowers women to decide for themselves how and if she wants to use protection," explains the expert. But in a machista country like Honduras, teaching women to use the female condom will have to go hand in hand with improving their self esteem, he added.

Many reporters were first introduced to the female condom during a speech by Dr. Pramilla Senanayake of the International Planned Parenthood Foundation at the 1996 United Nations Population Fund International Media Seminar held in Paris. The dissimulated expression on many of the faces in the audience showed that many of the participants were seeing the female condom for the first time.

After explaining the use of the product, Senanayake said, "we're just negotiating a better price with manufacturers to take [the female condom] to other regions like Latin America." The price for a female condom in Honduras wouldn't be any less than one dollar (Lps. 13) a piece.

Made of a synthetic material, the female condom differs from its male counterpart in that it contains two rings, a soft internal one and a harder outer one. To use the condom, a woman rubs it to spread its lubricant, then squeezes the soft ring and inserts it as far as it will go into her vagina, being careful to keep it from twisting. Once in place, the harder outer ring remains outside the vagina. To remove the condom, the user squeezes the outer ring, twists the condom shut and removes it. Distributors recommend using water based lubricants for extra moisture.

According to information from the Planned Parenthood Association of UTAH, the disadvantages of the female condom are that it can be messy, may irritate the vagina or the penis, and that the outer pouch may slip into vagina during intercourse.

FIRST REACTIONS

Even though the female condom has yet to be officially introduced in Honduras, certain sectors have already begun to condemn it. Such is the case with ProVida (ProLife), a non-governmental, anti-abortion organization that launches constant attacks against the Public Health Ministry's promotion of the condom, both male and female.

"We agree with ProVida in most of their arguments," says Nunez in reference to the group's emphasis on abstinence and fidelity. But ProVida doesn't agree with the Ministry. Recently in a La Prensa report, ProVida director Martha Lorena de Casco made public accusations that the Ministry's real interest in the female condom is allowing Honduran women to be used as laboratory rats to see if it really works.

"It's not an experiment; it's a strategy to prevent AIDS," responds Health Director Enrique Zelaya.

Among everyday Hondurans, the idea of a woman using a condom has not been a popular one.

Pedro Emilio, a 20-year-old university student, says he wouldn't let his girlfriend use one. "It's not the same when I wear a condom. It will surely be less if the woman wears one." He added that he isn't afraid of contracting AIDS because he isn't the kind of man who "sleeps around." He did, however, say he thought the female condom might be useful for prostitutes.

Maria Teresa, a single, professional 34-year-old, said she didn't know if she'd use a female condom because she hasn't seen one yet, but that she might try it out of curiosity and make her decision afterwards.

Dagoberto, a 29-year-old journalist who is the single father of a 10-year-old son, says he only has sex when he is in a committed relationship, but that in any "inevitable" situation he should be the one wearing the condom.

Norma, a 28-year-old married woman with two children, said she would never wear a condom, because she is afraid it might get lost inside of her. Only Vanessa, a 25-year-old married professional who is waiting for her first baby, said she would rather use the condom that suffer the side effects of other family planning methods like pills or the copper IUD.

But despite this lack of enthusiasm for the female condom, health officials believe it's their responsibility to tell people that it exists as another alternative for health care and family planning. "We cannot favor certain methods and hide others," says Nunez. He himself believes that the female condom should be made more attractive and that its advantages should be widely promoted.

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Protestants oppose proposed Christ statue

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Honduras' Protestant pastors are loudly opposing plans to erect a statue of Jesus Christ on a Tegucigalpa hilltop. Not only do they believe Christians "shouldn't worship idols," they also argue that the very Catholic monument defies the freedom of religion that the Honduran Constitution grants to all citizens.

The trouble began when it was announced that President Reina, his cabinet and a number of prominent Tegucigalpa businessmen had set up a special foundation with Monsignor Oscar Andres Rodriguez, the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, to raise funds for the Lps. 5 million project.

The statue, which would be sculpted by Honduran artist Mario Zamora Alcantara, would be erected on the hill known as El Picacho and would be a towering 20 meters tall and would rival the famous Cristo del Corcobado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, say planners.

The business sector responded immediately with a flood of donations and each of the cabinet members pledged a full month's salary.

But the Association of Evangelical Pastors of Tegucigalpa says it is "in total and absolute disagreement" with the project. Although the Honduran Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, the Protestants criticize the Reina administration for favoring Catholicism and "blatantly ignoring and marginalizing the Evangelical Church."

El Picacho is for everyone, not just Catholics, says the Association, adding that in these hard economic times the Lps. 5 million needed for the statue could be put to better use elsewhere.

But Bishop Luis Alfonso Santos of the Copan Dioces defends the project, saying that the statue is meant to honor the 2,000th birthday of Jesus Christ, a man that Christians and non-Christians alike believe was one of the greatest leaders humanity has ever seen.

"I don't understand why the pastors are offended," he said.

Police find gun, make more arrests in Maduro kidnapping / murder case

Police continue to make headway in the kidnapping/murder case of young Honduran businessman Ricardo Ernesto Maduro.

Four more individuals were arrested this week, all linked to a kidnapping ring police say masterminded not only the botched Maduro abduction, but at least three more North Coast kidnappings this year.

Jose Rene Escobar Gomez, Efrain Amado Gomez, Victor Manuel Meraz Arias and Idalia Santos were all detained this week in connection with the Maduro murder. But the alleged leaders of the ring that abducted the 24-year-old in front of his home on April 17 and left him for dead in a deserted field later that evening -- brothers Abel, Adonay and Misael Bustillo Padilla and their half brother Justo Padilla -- remain at large.

Escobar Gomez, who also goes by the name Nelson Romero, was called in for questioning by the First Criminal Court of San Pedro Sula last Friday (May 16) and subsequently identified by witnesses as one of Maduro's abductors. Amado Gomez and Meraz Arias were identified by witnesses the following Tuesday. The former, who goes by the nickname "Don Lentes", has been a primary suspect in the Maduro case since the beginning of the investigation and allegedly served as the "contact man", negotiating ransoms in not only the Maduro case, but the kidnappings of Roger Valladares and Abraham Ennabe earlier this year.

Idalia Santos was this week's fourth arrest. She was taken into custody on Monday (May 19) after police discovered she had been in contact with the Bustillo Padilla brothers. According to a La Prensa report, the fugitives have maintained steady contact with Santos and, most recently, asked her to collect money owed them by several individuals in order to continue financing their flight from the law. Santos told police she had indeed heard from the fugitives, but not regularly, and that she had no idea where they were hiding. She was released Tuesday.

Much of the information that led to this week's arrests was provided by Victor Esmelin Mejia Discua, who was initially arrested for alleged involvement in the kidnapping of Roxana Diaz. Since reports of Mejia Discua's cooperation with police began to appear in the local press, unidentified assailants have fired AK-47 rifles at his family's home on three occasions.

Neighbors told La Prensa they believe the shootings, which have so far harmed no one, are the Bustillo Padilla's way of warning Mejia Discua -- and anyone else -- not to cooperate with police.

In a related event, police last Friday (May 16) confirmed that the gun found during a raid on the home of Jose Antonio Nunez is indeed the weapon stolen from Maduro's bodyguard on the night of the kidnapping. Police believe that Nunez was involved in the recent robbery of a Banco Atlantida branch office in Yoro. Nunez, who committed suicide as police forced their way into his home, had not previously been linked to the Maduro case.

Meanwhile, the country continues to mourn the death of the young Maduro, son of prominent businessman and former president of the Central Bank of Honduras, Ricardo Maduro, Sr. Hondurans across the country have donned black ribbons in memory of Maduro and in protest of the nation's growing rate of violent crime.

More talk than action at U.S.-C.A. summit

(LEFT TO RIGHT) President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic; President Armando Calderon Sol of El Salvador; President Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua; President Bill Clinton of the United States; President Jose Maria Figueres of Costa Rica; President Carlos Reina of Honduras; President Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala; and Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel of Belize.

By BLANCA MORENO

Although the presidents of Central America have been criticized for returning "empty handed" from last week's regional summit with U.S. President Bill Clinton, the leaders themselves say plenty of progress was made. They didn't obtain parity to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as many Central Americans would have liked them to, but they did secure several regional open skies treaties and made headway in affairs like the fight against drug trafficking, international crime and illegal immigrants.

Clinton made a stopover in San Jose, Costa Rica May 7-8 as part of a tour through Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. In the Costa Rican capital he met with President Reina, Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres, Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu, Salvadoran President Armando Calderon Sol, Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman and President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic. Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares did not attend the summit.

The Central American leaders, with their sites set on NAFTA parity, had to settle for an expansion of the Caribbean Basin Initiative when it came to regional trade. Likewise, although the region's presidents asked Clinton to lessen the impact of the United States' new Immigration Law, they came home with nothing more than a promise that there will be no mass deportations, as has been rumored in the Latin American press, sparking fear among illegal immigrants and their families.

The primary agreements made in the Declaration of San José, signed by each of the participating presidents at the end of the summit, are the following:

* To modernize extradition treaties and strengthen their enforcement;

* To maintain an open dialogue in the search for solutions to immigration problems and to ensure that the cases of individual immigrants are treated fairly and independently;

* To facilitate the approval by the U.S. Congress of an expansion of Caribbean Basin Initiative benefits;

* To create a Trade and Investment Council consisting of the Economy Ministers of participating nations;

* To sign bilateral open skies treaties between the United States and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to promote trade and tourism;

* To revive efforts to protect endangered species and to promote investment in ecotourism;

* To hold periodic summits with regional leaders and an annual meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Relations of participant countries.

Although many different areas were discussed, the former Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rodrigo Madrigal Nieto, echoed the sentiments of many when he said the Declaration of San Jose is "full of good intentions but will lead to little that is concrete."

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Indian protestors go home with more promises

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- The Chorti Indians and supporters from other indigenous groups left here on Thursday (May 15) after several days of protest in front of the Casa Presidencial. An estimated 1,500 Indian protestors made a pilgrimage to the nation's capital to demand justice for the murder of Chorti activist Candido Amador and legal titles for tribal lands.

This was the latest of a series of Indian marches on Tegucigalpa in recent years. Camped out near the Casa Presidencial, this time the protestors said they wouldn't leave until they saw concrete efforts on the part of the Reina administration to meet their needs and demands.

Although on Monday morning (May 12) more than a thousand Indians were removed from the outskirts of the Casa Presidencial because the conditions in which they were living were deemed dangerous by health officials, Indians remained in Tegucigalpa until Thursday, when President Reina signed a final agreement to put an end to the conflict.

The government negotiated with Indian leaders through a special commission led originally by Culture Minister Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle, and later by Ricardo Arias, Minister of Agriculture and Cattle Ranching.

Among the final agreements made by government and Indian leaders are that:

• Beginning May 30, every 15 days 500 hectares of land will be given official title in the name of the Indians until a total of 2,000 hectares are transferred to Indian ownership in Ocotepeque department;
• Once the Indians hold title on the initial 2,000 hectares, the National Agrarian Institute will proceed to transfer the title of an additional 5,000 hectares;
• The Chorti Indians will also be given technical assistance and Lps. 200,000 to help them build housing;
• Health and education programs will be set up;
• The police will guarantee personal security in the zone;
• The Public Ministry will facilitate the investigation of the murders of Candido Amador and Ovidio Perez, both activists killed while fighting for tribal land rights;
• That the Armed Forces will undergo an internal investigation to determine whether anyone from the military was involved in the murders.

Before the Indians returned home on Thursday, they held a thanksgiving mass in the Tegucigalpa neighborhood of Las Brisas, located just one kilometer from the Casa Presidencial. It was there that they had been awaiting the results of the protest, facing mosquitos and a lack of shelter, sanitation and health care.

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WEEK IN REVIEW

BANEXPO in San Pedro Sula robbed

Despite increased police and military presence in San Pedro Sula, two San Pedro Banks were robbed in less than a week. On Wednesday (May 14), five thugs robbed approximately Lps. 200,000 from BANHCRESER. The robbery was the 23rd this year. On May 9, four thugs robbed approximately Lps. 350,000 from the Banco de las Exportaciones (BANEXPO) bank on the Circunvalacion Avenue. Meanwhile, La Prensa reported that police arrested two suspects in the May 8 robbery of the Banco Atlántida branch in Yoro City. A third suspect, identified as José Antonio Núñez Lozano, alias Edwin Javier Valladares, reportedly killed himself when the police attempted to arrest him at his San Pedro Sula home. Inside Valladares' residence the police found a handgun, two grenades, and Lps. 25,000 cash.

The police have also arrested four suspects in the April 22 robbery of the BANCAHORRO branch in San Pedro Sula's Colonia Tara.

Parties okay electoral reforms

The nation's five political parties -- Liberal, National, Innovation and Unity, Christian Democrat and the new Democratic Unification -- on May 8 accepted most of the electoral reforms proposed by the National Electoral Tribune (TNE), the daily La Tribuna reported. The only proposal refused by the parties was the elimination of the use of indelible ink, which is placed on the little finger of voters after they cast their ballots to prevent them from voting more than once.

Among the proposed reforms accepted by the parties are: using security paper with bar codes for electoral acts; numbering ballots and ballet boxes; prohibiting the press from announcing early results; regulating the publication of polls and surveys six months prior to the elections; setting the number of ballots per ballot box at 300; and establishing policies to regulate campaign contributions and spending.

Embargo placed on properties of ex-officials

The Government Prosecutor's Office has placed an embargo on the residences of nearly 20 former government officials who allegedly used the petroleum stabilization fund -- a special fund created to cushion against rising gas prices -- for their own personal gain. The daily La Prensa reported that the embargoed residences belong to Norma Regina de Callejas, the former first lady; Gilberto Goldstein, the private secretary of President Callejas; and Francisco Cardona, former Minister of Government and Justice; among others.

Meanwhile, documents in the hands of justice officials have revealed that approximately 500 persons benefitted personally from the fund. Government officials claim that between Lps. 150 million and Lps. 280 million were illegally transferred from the fund into the personal accounts of Callejas, his family and friends, and close collaborators. At the conclusion of his term, the fund's balance was only Lps. 800.

Suspect in Maduro murder arrested

The police on Wednesday (May 14) arrested the owner of a butcher shop in San Pedro Sula's Barrio Cabanas and alleged member of a band of thugs who robbed the Atlantida branch bank in Yoro and may have participated in the kidnapping and murder of businessman Ricardo Maduro Jr., the daily La Tribuna reported. The suspect was identified as Victor Manuel Meraz Arias.

The connection between the band of thugs, known as Los Encapuchados, and Maduro's murders is a handgun found among the possessions of Jose Antonio Nunez Lozano -- a member of the same gang who killed himself before the police could capture him -- that may have belonged to Henry Rivas, Maduro's bodyguard.

Owner receives 'historic' sentence for demolishing bar

In a court ruling that could be considered "historic," the First Criminal Court of Tegucigalpa has sentenced Hilda Xiomara Cordoba to two years in prison for demolishing the Casa Popular Bar, also known as Las Camelias or Bar de los Poetas, an historic landmark, the daily La Tribuna reported. In 1994, Cordoba had the 18th century structure demolished late Saturday evening and early Sunday morning -- November 4 and 5 -- even though it had been declared a landmark since 1977.

Spirit of protest stretches far beyond Labor Day

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Like they do every May 1, Honduran workers and campesinos celebrated this year's Labor Day by taking to the streets with signs and banners, demanding legal reforms, land rights and the right to be heard. But unlike other years, this year's protest wasn't limited to the first of May. Instead, it sparked a series of protests that lasted nearly a week.

The manifestations began Labor Day, when workers and campesinos held marches in most major cities, demanding that the Reina administration reform the education system, improve land ownership laws and put an end to the wave of crime that has swept the nation.

If the government doesn't respond and do away with its "neoliberal" economic policy, "there will be social decomposition," said protestors.

"Everyone knows that the economic model that recent administrations have institutionalized in our country does not meet our socioeconomic expectations because it doesn't achieve human development," said protest leaders. They accused the current economic policy of being cold, "mercantilistic", pragmatic and a threat to the nation's capital, culture, identity and sovereignty.

INDIAN RIGHTS
Just days after the Labor Day protests, thousands of Honduran Indians marched on Tegucigalpa on May 5 to protest last month's murder of Indian activist Candido Amador, to demand that his killer be found and tried and to demand land rights and social programs.

Throughout the week, Indians camped out in front of the Casa Presidencial and the Supreme Court while their leaders met with a special commission led by Culture Minister Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle.

When after 24 hours the two factions were unable to come to an agreement on land tenency matters, and after the Reina administration warned that the camping Indians might have to be removed because a lack of sanitation could provoke disease, the talks broke down, but resumed Thursday (May 8). Several protestors were indeed treated at Hospital Escuela for diarrheal diseases, coughs and the effects of a hunger strike.

TRANSPORT COMPANIES
Continuing the spirit of protest, on Tuesday (May 6), members of the Federation of Central American Passenger Transport Companies (FETRACEN) held its own march, demanding that the Transport Law be reformed and improvements be made in the transportation sector.

PEACE AND LIFE
But perhaps the most moving protest was the one that took place that same day in San Pedro Sula, when thousands of Hondurans, among them businessmen, government leaders, students and housewives, covered 15 city blocks in the Great March for Life and Peace. The march was held in memory of Ricardo Maduro, Jr., the promising San Pedro Sula businessman who was kidnapped and later murdered several weeks ago. Protestors came to show their strength as common citizens tired of crime, and to demand that the Reina administration do a better job of fighting and punishing crime.

Present at the Great March were Ricardo Maduro, Sr. father of the victim and former president of the Central Bank of Honduras, along with renowned North Coast businessmen Juan Bendeck, Mario Canahuati and Jaime Rosenthal.

At the march, the Maduro family announced that it has established a scholarship fund in honor of Ricardo, Jr.

New U.S. immigration law poses challenge to Honduras

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- The new immigration law that has been in effect in the United States since April 1 has provoked a series of reactions -- most of them negative -- among the people of Honduras. While immigrants living inside the U.S. border worry about the suspension of social benefits there, Hondurans back home fear that a mass deportation will worsen unemployment and crime rates here.

Although the media throughout Latin America report these much-feared deportations have already begun, the U.S. government says it has no plans for the large scale removal of immigrants.

Angelina Ulloa, director of the Honduran Department of Immigration, points out that the term "massive" is relative.

"For us, 30 deportations in one day can be considered a massive deportation, but U.S. officials don't quite see it in the same way," she told Honduras This Week.

According to the Immigration Department, 397 Hondurans were deported from the United States between April 1 and April 28. Deportations in January, February and March, meanwhile, averaged 196 per month. This means the new U.S. law has nearly doubled the number of Hondurans being sent back home. Ulloa suspects this number will grow even more after September, when the period for certain illegal immigrants to change their status expires.

There are an estimated five million illegal immigrants living in the United States. Although they come from all around the globe, they are primarily concentrated in big cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco and Houston.

Nearly half a million Hondurans are currently living in the United States, with the largest concentration in New Orleans. Of these, it is nearly impossible to determine how many are illegal. Dagoberto Ramos, who works at the Honduran Consulate in Los Angeles, says that even before April 1 his office was managing 60 illegal immigrant cases per month.

Ramos points out that the large majority of the U.S. Hispanic community works honestly and leads a decent life. Unfortunately, he says, a minority has chosen another way of life: robbery, drug trafficking, sexual abuse or simply staying home and waiting for the food stamps to arrive.

"We have seen cases of single mothers who have children only to support themselves on the social benefits provided by the government. For the next 18 years they never even look for a job," he said.

OFFENDERS FIRST IN LINE
"The attention will remain focused on the quick removal of inadmissable foreigners from the entry ports of the United States, and those who have committed serious crimes," said attorney Paul Virtue of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in a press release soon before the new law went into effect.

The release said the six-chapter law also reforms the terms and conditions under which an individual may be removed from the United States and stiffens requirements for soliciting legal standing.

In the process, the law stipulates new causes for deportation or inadmissibility, adding rape and the sexual abuse of a minor to the pre-existing list of serious crimes. The law also reduces the maximum admissible fine for money laundering and other illegal financial transactions, as well as the maximum number of years an immigrant can have spent in prison. It closes the door on foreigners with terrorist backgrounds and individuals that have given up their U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes.

Another change affected by the new legislation is that it is now necessary for an individual to hold U.S. citizenship in order to receive social benefits. Immigrants must also now show proof of legal status in order to receive Social Security or attend a college or university. Meanwhile, requirements for immigrant sponsorship and financial and housing aid will also be tougher, as will penalties for immigrants who remain in the United States beyond the expiration date of their visas.

However, the law also gives immigrants the right to appeal decisions affecting them and allows for exceptions depending on each individual case. Likewise, immigrants may opt to pay a fee to obtain a volunteer exit resource, to avoid having a forced deportation stain their record.

HOME SWEET HOME?
When Hondurans are deported, they don't simply return home quietly. They are subject to a special process that involves the Honduran Department of Immigration, the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

"Those who have been deported after the U.S. government confirmed they were involved in a serious crime are interrogated and investigated to determine whether they also have criminal records here," says Ulloa.

The rest fill out a less-complicated registration form to help facilitate their re-entry. But a concrete mechanism has yet to be developed to help deported individuals meet their employment, health, educational and housing needs once they return to Honduras.

The new immigration law was passed in September 1996 by U.S. President Bill Clinton and the U.S. Congress. It was approved, "in response to the demands of the nation," says INS spokesman Andrew Lluberes during a recent program held via satellite with a group of journalists from Honduras, Guatemala and Honduras.

Sixteen thousand INS officials are now in action to fight illegal immigration in the United States. But many believe that as long as there is hunger in the developing world, people will continue to flock to the United States in search of the American Dream.

Machete-carrying thugs
go after tourists on
Tela beach

By CAPTAIN TERRY CLYMIRE

Last weekend, a group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers from all around Honduras travelled to Tela for a short break from their jobs, where they assist in education, construction and farming in the rural areas of the country. Their short vacation turned tragic Saturday afternoon.

In three separate incidents of robbery, assault and attempted kidnapping, two volunteers where hospitalized and three were injured.

At about 2 p.m. while walking on a Tela beach, one of the female volunteers was assaulted and robbed by a man on horseback with a machete. Later that afternoon, four male volunteers were approached by three men, also carrying machetes, on the beach near the popular resort Villas Telamar. They were robbed of clothing, cameras and money.

The final incident also occurred near Telamar, this time at night. Two volunteers, one male and one female, were walking in the sand when they were approached by two. They held machetes to the volunteers' throats, tied up the male volunteer and robbed them both. Then the two men dragged the woman into some nearby bushes, pulling at her clothes.

Seeing someone walking nearby along the almost deserted beach, the victim began to scream to attract attention. Alarmed by her shouts and seeing the passersby approaching them, the robbers tried to silence the woman by striking her across the face with a machete. Dropping her to the ground in a partially wooded area, they turned and ran.

The attackers may have been aiming for her throat, but in the struggle the brutal blow of the machete struck just below her nose, opening both of her lips and knocking out all of her front teeth.

The woman and her male friend were immediately airlifted to the United States. She will have to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery.

The other victims have all survived their traumatic experiences and have returned to their jobs.

Statements made to the Honduran police in which the attackers are described seem to indicate that the thugs were one and the same in each of the three cases. Using police mug shots, the assailants were immediately identified. They have extensive criminal backgrounds and warrants have been issued for their arrest.

Meanwhile, the police recommend that tourists avoid walking alone or in groups at night. If your schedule necessitates traveling after dark, do so only in well-traveled and lighted areas. Also, never travel alone day or night, and report all incidences of crime to the police immediately.

Arrests made in alleged kidnapping ring

Police have made little progress since kidnapping became Honduras' fastest growing crime last year. That is, they hadn't until last week.

While the nation continues to grieve the tragic kidnapping/murder of up-and-coming businessman Ricardo Maduro, Jr., police have made three arrests and investigations seem to confirm what many have believed all along: that today's surge of kidnappings are the work of a single organized band of thugs.

Although it has yet to be proven that Efrain Ordonez, Victor Esmelin Mejia Discua and Oneyda Mejia Discua were involved in the Maduro murder, police uncovered enough evidence of their involvement in last year's kidnapping of Roxana Diaz Jovel to warrant their arrest late last week.

The authorities also have evidence of their involvement in the kidnapping of Roger Mauricio Valladares, said a La Tribuna report last Saturday, and expect to uncover links to the Maduro case and the Abraham Ennabe Chaya kidnapping as well.

While police continue to question Ordonez and the Mejia Discuas, they're also on the lookout for at least 14 other members of the alleged kidnapping ring. These include Abel Padilla Bustillo, the alleged head of the ring, Misael Padilla and Justo Padilla Bustillo, Marco Antonio Hernandez and a fifth man known by the nickname Tono Rambo Raspado.

Drawings and photographs of the five men are being widely circulated throughout Honduras, and according to the daily La Prensa, the police are "hot on their tails."

Meanwhile, wealthy Hondurans continue to live in fear that one of their family members will be the next kidnapping victim. Although many have body guards and are taking special security measures, the fact that many of the recent kidnappings have been successful has sparked fear across the nation.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Civilians patrolling city following disturbances

Unarmed civilians continued to patrol the streets of El Paraíso City this week following the withdrawal of law enforcement authorities in the wake of a demonstration that left two dead and 24 injured, the daily El Heraldo reported. In addition to citizen patrols, the mayor's office has temporarily banned the sale of liquor and canceled all public and private events.

On April 30, agents of the Public Security Force (FSP) fled the city after an angry mob ransacked the police station and then burned it down. Earlier that day, the police had killed 15-year-old Wilmer Figueroa and 49-year-old Cristino Diaz Herrera and injured 16 while attempting to disperse a crowd of demonstrators, who were demanding the immediate reparation of the road between Danli and Las Manos. Six policemen and two soldiers were also injured in the clash with demonstrators.

Following negotiations with local officials last Friday (May 2), the government promised to begin paving the road within 45 days. The day before, approximately 5,000 persons attended funeral services for the victims, which were held at the Plaza Civica in front of the mayor's office.

Peasant arrested for stealing plantains

Alejandro Quintin Escobar on Tuesday (May 6) was charged by the Criminal Court of Catacamas, Olancho with stealing 80 plantains from the Santa María del Real plantation, the daily El Heraldo reported. Claiming it was his first offense, the campesino admitted to stealing the fruit because he is unable to feed his seven children on the Lps. 200 he earns each week. "I had no alternative, it hurt more (to watch) the hunger of my children," he told El Heraldo. However, owner Oscar Palacios said Escobar has been robbing fruit from his plantation over the last six months.

Honduras has fourth highest growth rate

Even though the average number of children women have has declined from 5.3 to 4.5, the 3rd Salud para Todos (Health for All) report revealed that Honduras has the fourth highest growth rate in the region, the daily La Tribuna reported. The report, which will be sent tot he World Health Organization (WHO) in Washington, D.C., estimates the growth rate in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula to be approximately 4 percent. Areas with higher rates include the departments of Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, Intibucá, La Paz and Valle. Infant mortality rates have also dropped from 54.95 to 43.41 deaths per 1,000 live births during the period between 1989 and 1995.

Phone workers seek Lps.500 million raise

The union of the Honduran Telecommunications Company (HONDUTEL) is asking for a global Lps. 500 million (US$38 million) wage hike, the daily La Tribuna reported Thursday (May 8). This amount would be distributed among 3,800 employees over a three-year period. Vice Minister of Finances Mario Andino Avendaño considers the union's proposal excessive, and said the government's counter offer will be based on the inflation rate, which is currently 26 percent.

Relatives of ex-pres implicated in scam

Documents on the Chinazo passport scam sent to Radio America by Maria Martha Diaz, jailed in Miami since August 8, 1996, revealed that a front company was created by Honduran and Hong Kong investors to promote the naturalization of Chinese citizens, requiring each applicant to pay at least US$3,200 "to cover operating expenses," the daily La Prensa reported Thursday (May 8).

Among the names mentioned in the documents read during a Radio America news program were several relatives of former President Callejas, including Robert Callejas and Roberto Ramon Castillo Callejas, and former Minister of Government and Justice Francisco Cardona Arguelles.

Diaz, the government's chief witness in the Chinazo scam, is currently being held in the Dade Country jail for failing to comply with a custody ruling. The mother of three, Diaz was married to Nicaraguan businessman René Contreras, one of the alleged ringleaders in the scam.

Kidnapping ends in murder;

angered nation mourns

Ricardo Maduro (FIRST ON LEFT) carries the remains of his only son, Ricardo Ernesto, along with his closest relatives. (Photo by Suyapa Carias.)

A mixture of anger, frustration and indignation penetrated the hearts of Hondurans last Friday (April 25) when news came that Ricardo Ernesto Maduro, the son of prominent businessman Ricardo Maduro, had been found dead in a field, 36 hours after he was violently kidnapped by a group of unknown men in San Pedro Sula.

The only son of the former president of the Central Bank of Honduras was driving home with his bodyguard on the evening of April 23 when, just two blocks away from his home in the affluent Colonia Juan Lindo neighborhood, four armed men in a red pick-up intercepted Maduro's Land Rover. They fired several shots at Maduro's vehicle, causing him to lose control. After the Land Rover turned over onto one side, the abductors grabbed Maduro out of the car, threw him into the back of the pick-up and drove away. During the violent abduction, Maduro received a shot to the head. It is believed that this shot was the cause of his death, if not immediately, then not long after he was kidnapped.

Maduro's bodyguard, Henry Rivas, was also wounded in the attack. "They didn't kill me because I played dead," he told reporters from his hospital bed. It was Rivas who called the victim's father, who lives in Tegucigalpa, with the bad news.

In a tearful attempt to get his son back alive, Ricardo Maduro visited several television stations that same evening to beg the kidnappers for mercy and ask them to contact him as soon as possible to negotiate a ransom.

The following day two calls were made, one to the Maduro home in Tegucigalpa, which was apparently a fake, and another to one of the family's businesses in San Pedro Sula asking for a million dollars. No further contact was made.

Despite a wide-reaching search by San Pedro Sula police, Maduro's body wasn't found until two short anonymous phone calls were made to Radio America late on April 24. A male voice said the victim's body was located in a pasture in an area known as Ticamaya, near the road to Choloma in the north eastern part of the city. The following morning, authorities quickly located Maduro's body.

The victim's remains were sent to Tegucigalpa after they were released by investigators on April 25. The San Juan de Bosco Church in Colonia San Miguel wasn't large enough for the thousands of friends, relatives, government officials and business leaders who attended Maduro's funeral, which was performed by Monsignor Oscar Andres Rodriguez, the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa. Both President Reina and the First Lady were in attendance.

COLLECTIVE OUTRAGE

"This is a tragedy with no justification," said Rodríguez at the funeral. "Honduras isn't like this. We must fight the bad with the good. This is a fight for us all. Those who shed the blood of their brothers have no place in Honduras' peace."

The young Maduro had moved to San Pedro Sula only months before his murder to oversee several of his family's businesses there. Those who knew him say he was a kind, humble, active man.

The murder fueled the increasing anger and anxiety of Hondurans concerning the climate of violence and crime that has taken hold of the country in recent years. As people from all sectors, classes and religions contacted the media to condemn the crime and show their support for the Maduro family, debates sparked nationwide over ways to fight crime and come down harder on criminals.

The National Congress is now considering motions to instate life sentences and the Reina administration has named a special high level commission to propose concrete anti-crime policies to the National Security Council. Meanwhile, the transfer of the police from military to civilian hands, which was approved last year, is expected to give police a larger, more powerful and more effective presence in Honduran streets.

The private sector is also considering offering a Lps. 10 million reward for information that leads to the capture of Maduro's killers.

Maduro's is the second kidnapping gone awry in San Pedro Sula recently. On April 15, the body of another San Pedro Sula businessman, Ricardo Saybe, was found in a North Coast river. Saybe had been kidnapped March 27.

Toncontin will get a facelift while new airport is built

El Pedregal beats out Comayagua to house new Teguz airport

After Toncontin International Airport is remodelled, planes like this American Airlines 757 will no longer have to land so perilously close to Tegucigalpa traffic.

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- After years of public outcry, hot debate and fruitless action, Toncontín International Airport will finally be remodelled this year. The project, ellaborated by the Brown & Root construction company, will be carried out by the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Housing (SOPTRAVI), with a $20 million funding from the Japanese government.

Rigoberto Stephan, vice president of the Tegucigalpa Airport Corporation, a private organization created to manage Toncontin, says he's happy with the Reina administration's decision to give the airport a facelift, a project he says has been overlooked by previous administrations.

Toncontín has been a controversial issue for decades given its geographic and infrastructural disadvantages. Located right in the middle of the nation's capital, many argue the airport is a danger to both air travellers and the surrounding public.

Although Honduras received a multi-million dollar loan during the José Azcona Hoyo administration to remodel Toncontin, Stephan believes those funds were used for San Pedro Sula's new terminal instead.

INDEMNIZATIONS

Brown & Root's remodeling plan begins with a 300-meter extension of the airport's 1,864-meter runway, giving pilots more room to land. The road that currently runs around the southern portion of the airport, a major artery to southern Honduras and a number capital residential zones, will be redirected and linked to the Anillo Periferico (belt line) project, which is still under construction and will ultimately circle all of Tegucigalpa with a major thoroughfare.

Meanwhile, the terrain immediately surrounding Toncontin will be made more landing-safe by leveling nearby hills and demolishing neighborhoods close to the airport, namely Colonia Godoy and Lomas del Toncontin. The indemnizations that will have to be paid to affected families are estimated to top $1 million.

One of the largest buildings to be destroyed is the Amor Viviente Evangelist Church, constructed in 1985 in Colonia Godoy. The Military Pension Institute (IPM), located just across the street, will remain untouched.

The airport's makeover will also include an improved lighting system and a special spongy material that will cover the final 100 meters of the runway instead of asphalt.

The terminal itself will be remodeled with funds collected by the Tegucigalpa Airport Corporation. At least two mechanical boarding ramps will be installed so passengers will not have to walk onto the runway when boarding or deboarding their planes. In addition, the parking lot will be re-organized and expanded to accommodate a total of 360 vehicles.

The terminal project is estimated to cost Lps. 18 million -- the annual income reported by the Corporation.

43 ACCIDENTS IN 45 YEARS

The Civil Aeronautic Department is also happy with the project. Rolando Leiva, the Department's sub-director, has worked at Toncontin for more than 25 years and has seen many airlines come and go. He has also witnessed some of the airport's most tragic accidents. The first was in 1960, when an Air Force DC-3 passed low over the boulevard surrounding the southern end of the airport and clipped the roof off of a passing bus. A number of passengers from both the plane and the bus were killed.

Although Toncontin has seen 43 accidents -- most not fatal -- since it first opened in 1952, Leiva says the accident rate is low compared to the traffic served by the airport each year. "Toncontin has its risks, just like airports all over the world," he says.

According to Leiva, the three main factors involved in air accidents are human error, mechanical failure or bad weather. He admitted, however, that the mountainous approach into Toncontin poses a higher risk than most airports in Latin America, and pilots must be alert.

"We would definitely like the airport to have better approaches from south to north, as well as a longer runway," he says.

During its first years of existence, Toncontin's runway ran in a different direction that today's south-north orientation. Back then it was also unpaved. But in the '60s aviation in Honduras grew and soon international airlines began landing in the country. Today Toncontin serves nearly a million and a half passengers each year.

NEW AIRPORT

While Toncontin is ready to be remodelled, the Airport Corporation is working to materialize a more ambitious project: the construction of a new airport for Tegucigalpa. Studies made several years ago by international firms are being re-analyzed.

"Out of ten companies that have carried out studies, nine chose the El Pedregal Lagoon, several kilometers south-west of Tegucigalpa, as the ideal place to build a new airport," says Stephan. "The airport would be located in a large plateau, which is an advantage, and would operate 24 hours a day."

Although many consider that the Hernán Soto Cano Air Force Base (known as Palmerola) in Comayagua is a more appropriate and less expensive alternative, the Corporation believes the distance between the base and Tegucigalpa, about 100 kilometers, is too far for the needs of the nation's capital and would also require the construction of a larger, more modern highway between Comayagua and Tegucigalpa.

The National Congress last month approved a concession law for the new airport in El Pedregal, and President Carlos Roberto Reina is optimistic about the project. It is now a matter of obtaining the necessary financing to carry out the project, which will have an estimated cost of $300 million.

U.S. provides health care in La Mosquitia

The U.S.-Honduras Military Health Brigade recently travelled to the village of Mangotara in the isolated department of Gracias a Dios to provide health and sanitation care to residents there. The brigade consists of 50 members, 30 of whom are doctors from Squadron 136 of the U.S. National Guard. The soldiers donated Lps. 500,000 worth of medicine to the community, which is only accessible by small plane or boat.

Mangotara was chosen by Health Minister Enrique Samayoa to be a target area for the Brigade's work due to its isolation and low rate of vaccination. -- Rosa Santos

Politics complicate police transfer

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- The transfer of the national police force from military to civilian hands has become a thorn in the side of political, government and military leaders, who can't agree on when and how the transfer should be made.

For the last 34 years, the Public Security Force has been managed by the Armed Forces. In 1996, after persistent reports of abuse of power by the military and complaints that the force was being poorly managed, the popular decision was made to transform the police into a civilian entity.

When the commission in charge of overseeing the transfer arrived at police headquarters to inspect the force, they found police without working weapons, operable communications systems and bullet-proof vests, along with poorly-uniformed and poorly paid officers who had grown used to taking bribes to supplement their paltry incomes.

President Reina says it is the four major political parties that should decide together how the transfer should be handled. The four candidates vying for the presidency in November's election -- Carlos Flores of the Liberal Party, Nora de Melgar of the National Party, Olban Valladares of the PINU Party and Arturo Corrales of the Christian Democrats -- should participate in the transfer as part of the National Convergence Committee (CONACON), says the President.

"The decision should be made by the political parties and the Congress," he said.

Carlos Flores, however, believes the decision should be made by the National Congress and invited Nora de Melgar to participate, an invitation de Melgar rejected, stating that Flores is only trying to take personal credit for the popular transfer in this, an election year.

Olban Valladares, meanwhile, says that now that the transfer has been authorized, representatives from all sectors of Honduras should participate in the creation of the laws and regulations that will mandate the new civilian police force. If everyone gets a chance to have their say before the transfer is implemented, he says, there will be fewer arguments afterwards.

Arturo Corrales says nationwide agreement should be sought not only for the police transfer, but for many national issues.

While the country's leaders work out the details of the transfer, an air of uncertainty looms over the police. Many officers who were trained in professional military academies are wondering what the change will mean for their jobs. Edmundo Orellana, chief of the Public Ministry, under which the new police force will be places, says military officers will be able to choose whether they want to remain in the Armed Forces or move to the civilian sector.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Another Chorti killed near Copán Ruinas

Chorti Indian Ovidio Perez last Friday (April 25) was shot and killed by his employer Vicente Guerra, less than three weeks after the murder of Chorti leader Candido "Sandy" Amador, the daily La Tribuna reported. According to the police, Guerra shot Perez while the two men were drinking in the community of Hacienda Grande, not far from Copan Ruinas. Guerra, a cattle rancher and farmer, reportedly fled to Guatemala after the shooting. Authorities have ruled Perez's death an accident and not due to land conflicts.

Meanwhile, the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) last weekend arrested a suspect in Amador's murder. He is identified as Marcial Reyanldo Escobar Andrade, an alleged hitman who is also accused of having murdered businesswoman Dionisia Efigenia Reyes in Tegucigalpa more than two years ago.

Nora's campaign manager resigns

Carlos Kattan Salem last weekend announced that he will resign as campaign manager for the National Party presidential candidacy of Nora de Melgar Castro beginning May 31, the daily El Heraldo reported. Kattan, who is currently a congressman for Cortés department, gave health reasons as the motive for his resignation, less than seven months before the elections.

Palmerola to remain base for U.S. drug operations

The United States will continue using the Soto Cano Air Base -- popularly known as Palmerola -- in Comayagua for its drug interdiction operations in Central America, according to U.S. Southern Command Chief Gen. Wesley Clark in a La Tribuna report. Clark, who was in Tegucigalpa last Friday (April 25) to attend the inauguration of the Army Technical School (ETE), said he was proud of the United States' long and fruitful relationship with the Honduran Armed Forces, which has allowed the two countries to jointly confront regional security challenges during the past decade.

During his visit, the General also gave out certificates of merit to the persons and institutions who assisted in the rescue of the bodies and survivors of ten U.S. servicemen in last month's crash of a C-130 transport plane at Toncontin International Airport.

Automatic teller robbed in Choluteca

Nearly Lps. 100,000 was robbed from an automatic teller machine in Choluteca on Monday (April 28), the daily La Tribuna reported.

According to witnesses, four heavily armed men broke into the bank office, located in the El Ahorro Hondureño Insurance Company building in Barrio El Centro, shortly after noon. After tying up employees with tape, the thugs fled with the money in a white pick-up truck.

The La Tribuna report stated that the police were not notified of the robbery until more than two hours later. The robbery was the 20th this year.

Protest in El Paraio ends in two deaths

Two persons were killed and an unknown number wounded during a demonstration Wednesday (April 30) near El Paraiso City, El Paraiso.

According to the daily La Tribuna, approximately 1,000 demonstrators on Monday blocked traffic on the road from Danli to Las Manos, demanding that the government repair the highway immediately.

Witnesses said Public Security Force agents, aided by soldiers of the 110th Brigade, attempted to disperse the crowd Wednesday morning with teargas.

Protestors responded by throwing stones at the police, who then opened fire on the crowd. Wilmer Figueroa (15) and Jose Cristino Diaz, who was not among the protestors, were shot and died while receiving medical attention at the local hospital. Col. Jose Neptali Lara, commander of the 110th brigade, defended the actions of law enforcement agents, claiming that drug addicts and drunks in the crowd wounded six policemen and two soldiers.