Last Friday marked two years since the inauguration of Porfirio Lobo as president of Honduras, amidst accusations of corruption, an unprecedented crime wave, and his lowest approval rating yet.

Porfirio Lobo speaking in Congress at the inauguration of the new legislative session. Credit: Honduran Presidency

A poll conducted by two Jesuit research centres revealed that halfway through Lobo’s term, Hondurans give his right-wing government a rating of 4.6 points out of 10, down from the 5.11 rating of a year ago.

“This is the lowest rating for the president’s administration, with respondents indicating as his sole achievement the 10,000-lempira subsidies (some 526 dollars) granted every three months to the poor,” Father Ismael Moreno, Jesuit provincial superior for Honduras, told IPS.

“In everything else, Porfirio Lobo scores an overwhelming failing grade,” he said, commenting on the results of the survey conducted jointly by Honduras’ Reflection, Research and Communication Team (Eric) and the El Salvador-based “José Simeón Cañas” Central American University (UCA).

Such widespread disapproval “would appear to be connected with the belief that Lobo has done nothing to respond to popular demands and has achieved little in his administration,” he said, noting that the 1,540 respondents agreed that Lobo’s greatest failure is his inability to curb rising violence and insecurity.

Official data also points to growing criminal violence, with an average of 17 murders a day in a country of 8.4 million inhabitants.

Results from the survey were only just released but are based on polls conducted over the second half of November in 16 of 18 departments (or provinces) Honduras is divided into.

Increasing criminality is just one of the many problems affecting the country. High unemployment and widespread corruption are also major concerns.

On Jan. 24, Lobo admitted that he would not be able to make good on his election promise of creating 100,000 new jobs. “At most we’ll be able to generate some 10,000 jobs,” the president said.

Lobo’s admission came during the presentation of his second annual report before Congress, at the formal inauguration of the 2012 legislative session.

In his address, Lobo highlighted Honduras’s return to the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the reopening of credit lines by multilateral financial institutions as leading achievements of his administration.

He also credited his administration for the establishment of a unity government, giving participation to every political group in the country, and a drop in the social unrest that followed the civilian- military coup d’état that deposed democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya, in June 2009.

After the coup, Honduras was isolated by the international community and, in particular, by most countries of the Americas.

The country was immediately cast out of the OAS and only readmitted two years later following an agreement brokered by Colombia and Venezuela, which included Zelaya’s return from exile and the recognition of the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP) – the broad popular movement that emerged to protest the coup, among other conditions.

President Lobo admitted that he has failed to meet a promise that was instrumental in his securing 56.6 percent of the votes and winning the November 2009 election. In his electoral campaign he had vowed to make Honduras a safe country.

But two years on, not only has criminal activity not fallen, it has soared to all-time highs, and the police entrusted with combating it is mired in corruption scandals, fuelling the already reigning impunity.

Of the respondents polled by Eric and UCA, 67 percent say the police have ties to organised crime, and 72 percent say they do not feel safe with the current police force.

The military troops that have been called in patrol the streets are somewhat better perceived, with 46 percent of respondents saying they trust them.

Historian and analyst Marvin Barahona said to IPS that the Lobo administration inherited a multifaceted crisis, and in some aspects “such as security, he’s made no effort to improve the situation”.

Another aspect of this crisis is corruption, Barahona said. He recalled how government officials have been implicated in rigged electric power and basic grain import contracts, procurement contracts awarded without tender, and other irregularities.

As a result, Honduras is one of the countries of Latin America with the highest level of perceived corruption, according to international transparency indexes.

“Underlying it all is impunity, and a rift between the government and its citizens caused by the lack of solutions to (the country’s) problems,” Barahona said.

The survey also reveals increasing disillusionment with political leaders and government institutions, as Lobo “has failed to inspire even a minimum of trust,” he added.

Lobo has arrived at the halfway mark of his term “with hardly any room for manoeuvring and his administration’s image will be even more tarnished in May when primary campaigns for the candidates of next year’s general election begin,” the historian and analyst said.

In Honduras, presidents traditionally have two years to actually govern. During the third year, pre-election campaigns wear down the administration, as most contenders are executive branch officers and acting legislators who hope to continue in the government in the following term.

Hondurans will go to the polls this November to elect the presidential candidates who will vie for the presidency a year later, when both president and national legislators and local government authorities will be elected.

For over a century, power in Honduras has been shared by the Liberal Party, now in the opposition, and the National Party, currently in power. Both parties are considered right-wing.

Although Zelaya was elected president of Honduras in 2005 running as the Liberal Party candidate, after coming back to Honduras in May 2011 he chose to leave the party and build a new political left-wing party, called Libertad y Refundación or Libre (Freedom and Refoundation – Free), which is currently applying to register with electoral authorities.

The Eric-UCA survey reveals a 2.8 percent voter preference for the new Libre party, with the majority of electors saying they intend to vote for one of the traditional parties, although voter support for both parties combined is under 60 percent.

Honduras has five political parties, which will be joined by three new ones in the next elections. Two of these new parties are left-wing and the third party is a right-wing group formed by retired military officers.

For sociologist Eugenio Sosa, this pre-election atmosphere “will speed up Lobo’s steady descent, as he will only be able to improve his image slightly if he takes firm actions to root out police corruption and address insecurity.”

“Otherwise, he will be the most unpopular president in recent years,” he said.

Following a surprise meeting between President Porfirio Lobo and U.S. government officials, Honduran lawmakers voted to amend the constitution to allow extradition of its nationals.

With no prior announcement, on Wednesday Lobo met with White House representatives in Miami, and only 24 hours later the Honduran national congress had passed an amendment that authorises the signing of treaties with foreign governments to extradite Honduran citizens charged with drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime.

The decision was adopted in a closed session and under tight security measures. Of the 128 members of congress, only the representatives of the left-wing Unificación Democrática (Democratic Unification) party expressed any misgivings about authorising terrorism-related extraditions, but they still voted in favour.

To secure approval of the measure, government officials engaged in intense negotiations with the country’s political parties and powerful economic groups throughout Thursday.

The amendment modifies article 102 of the constitution, which prohibited the extradition of Honduran nationals to a foreign country. Starting Feb. 1, the Central American country will be able to sign extradition treaties with other countries.

In a very brief press release, issued Thursday night, legislators said the decision was made for reasons of national security.

Several sectors attribute the government’s quick move to pass the amendment to Washington’s concern over Honduras’ sluggishness in addressing security issues, a concern that was apparently voiced at the Miami meeting with Lobo.

One of these issues is a recent scandal implicating police officers in murders, kidnappings, weapon thefts, extortions and other crimes.

The U.S. is also concerned over other unresolved cases such as the murder two years ago of the head of the country’s anti-drug operations, Arístides González, and more recently the death of former security adviser and anti-drug expert Alfredo Landaverde over a month ago. Both González and Landaverde had close ties to the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa.

Former Attorney General Edmundo Orellana told IPS that “it’s obvious that there was pressure from the United States. How else can you explain that within a day of the Miami meeting congress was able to pass a constitutional amendment that was more than a decade-long demand?”

“I commend the legislators for this brave decision and understand the need to not make the session public or reveal the names of those who voted in favour, as many have received threats from the drug cartels,” Orellana said.

At the Miami meeting, right-wing President Lobo was accompanied by Security Minister Pompeyo Bonilla, Congress Chair Juan Orlando Hernández and two other high government officials.

According to Honduran diplomatic sources, the Washington delegation was headed by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson and U.S. Ambassador in Tegucigalpa Lisa Kubiske, and included narcotics officers and U.S. Security Council officials.

At the meeting, U.S. officials are believed to have pressed for purges in the Honduran police to address the high level of corruption and influence from organised crime, after announcing that the U.S. would be sending two special security advisers to Honduras, who will work directly with President Lobo and Minister Bonilla as of February.

Lobo refused to give any details of the Miami meeting and merely repeated in general terms the press release issued by Washington announcing the two countries’ decision to cooperate in security matters, highlighting the legal action taken by Honduras to combat crime, and suggesting that greater “efforts” to purge police forces are needed.

Hernández was more forthcoming in his statements after the meeting in Miami. “We set out general strategic lines to address security issues and we can’t go back on our actions. We are going to move forward to implement the security reforms that are still needed,” he said.

He also said that forming a new police force is a possibility that cannot be ruled out and that there will be many legislative discussions that for reasons of national security “will not be open to the press, so we ask for the media’s understanding.”

Hernández’ comment regarding a new police force came as a complete shock to Coralia Rivera, security vice minister and former police commissioner, who at a public appearance said “we were not expecting this, especially not in the manner (Hernández) announced it, so out of the blue.”

Rivera is mentioned in confidential reports from the attorney general’s office, where she is accused of being involved in police and government corruption and in particular in drug-related crimes. But she denies the charges and claims she is working to “clean up” the police’s image.

The chancellor of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, Julieta Castellanos, told IPS that the decision to authorise the extradition of Honduran citizens “is a positive sign that (the government) is willing to take action, it’ll have a deterrent effect that will enhance the possibilities of effectively cracking down on organised crime networks.”

She also said that this amendment sends out an indirect message to “corrupt police officers”, in reference to the police involvement in recent criminal actions, such as the murder of her own son and his friend on Oct. 22, 2011. Five police officers have been imprisoned for that crime, but another three suspects are still on the run.

Rigoberto Espinal, a legal expert and adviser to the state attorney, told IPS that this measure “is a significant step in the battle against impunity. It was what we were hoping for because it gives us more legal elements to combat these crimes.”

Pressure from Washington to pass this amendment intensified two months ago when it pushed for Colombia’s criminal prosecutor, Germán Zamudio, to be invited to a forum in Honduras, despite strong resistance from important circles.

Several congresspersons and executive and judicial officers called for a low-profile visit and refused to let the government host his stay, which in the end was paid for by a private company.

With the amendment, Honduras joins its neighbours El Salvador and Guatemala in authorising extraditions. The three countries form Central America’s “northern triangle”, considered one of the most violent regions in the world due to the presence of drug cartels that have been displaced from Colombia and Mexico by the war on drugs.

By - - and Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 30 2011 (IPS)

As the new year rolls in, Honduras is feeling more than ever the challenges posed by soaring rates of violent crime, police corruption, the penetration of the police by organised crime, and a wave of selective killings of journalists and experts in the fight against drugs.

The growing insecurity prompted the U.S. Peace Corps to announce that it would withdraw all of its volunteers from this Central American country. It will also stop sending new recruits to neighbouring Guatemala and El Salvador.

Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, which make up the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America, have some of the highest homicide rates in the world: 82, 66, and 49 per 100,000 population, respectively, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), compared to a global average of 6.9 per 100,000.

Although Peace Corps members have not specifically been the targets of violence, the 158 volunteers in Honduras will be withdrawn in January, because of safety concerns.

The decision, announced Dec. 22, “deals a major blow to the government and a political class that have not grasped the gravity of the security problem and the need for reforms of the police,” political analyst Juan Ramón Martínez told IPS.

Martínez said the Peace Corps measure is even more serious for Honduras’ image than the cut-off of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) assistance for failing to live up to its requirements in the fight against corruption and impunity for human rights violations.

The MCC is a bilateral U.S. government foreign aid agency set up in 2004 to fund poverty reduction programmes in areas such as agriculture and irrigation, transportation, water supply and sanitation, and access to education.

But this month, the MCC board selected Honduras as eligible for a Threshold Programme in recognition of recent steps by the government “to address corruption through improved fiscal transparency.”

Through the Threshold Programme, the country will once again be eligible for between two and 20 million dollars in grant funding. And if Honduras meets the MCC’s requirements, it will become eligible again for some 240 million dollars in assistance.

The withdrawal of Peace Corps volunteers “obviously affects us and should serve as a call for reflection. But the world must understand that we are shoring up our institutions, because we gain nothing by trying to downplay the impact,” said Foreign Minister Arturo Corrales.

Corrales told IPS that “there is no time for crying, and it is time to bring about the necessary changes in the area of security, whether we like it or not. Our job is to guarantee people’s safety.”

Pressure from the U.S. was stepped up after several recent high-profile murders: of two university students, a radio show host, and a former security minister.

One of the students was the son of the chancellor of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). The two young men were chased by two police cars as they drove home from a birthday party the night of Oct. 22. The police shot at them and wounded one of the young men, who were forced to pull over. The police then killed them and dumped their bodies in a ravine on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa.

The Dec. 6 murder of radio journalist Luz Marina Paz by gunmen, meanwhile, brought the number of reporters killed in the last two years in Honduras to 17, making this the second-most dangerous country for media workers in Latin America, after Mexico.

And former security minister Afredo Landaverde, an outspoken critic of police corruption, was killed on Dec. 7, when he was preparing to testify as a protected witness in the case of the December 2009 murder of former anti-drug czar General Julian Arístides González.

Sources at the prosecutor’s office told IPS that González was apparently killed by the police to keep him from revealing the names of high-level security forces officers involved in the drug trade.

Before he was killed by gunmen, Landaverde, who had close ties to the U.S. embassy, made explosive comments to the press about police corruption and the extent to which organised crime is embedded in the police. He even publicly called on President Porfirio Lobo to create a new police force.

In the last two months, there have also been incidents involving military police operations in the northeastern province of Olancho aimed at capturing two drug barons, who were tipped off by the police themselves and managed to escape.

But two of the drug lords’ deputies were captured. However, they were later found hanged in the country’s main prison.

This came on top of the murder of a police firearms expert who was apparently a witness in the case of 300 FAL assault rifles and more than 300,000 munitions that went missing from a military warehouse in the capital in August or September.

Sociologist Eugenio Sosa said the country is facing a dangerous expansion of the power of organised crime, with the latest deaths “targeting not only journalists, but also witnesses who dare to speak out about police corruption and its ties with transnational crime.

“There are attempts to impose a society of fear, and without a doubt 2012 will be a decisive year in terms of security,” Sosa told IPS.

The violence is partly connected to the presence of Mexican drug cartels like Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel, which according to recently published accounts operate throughout Central America, but especially in the Northern Triangle.

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