The election crisis in Honduras with all its consequences for the country and the region was still unfolding on January 3 when the U.S. military launched direct strikes against Caracas, Venezuela. The strikes reportedly had killed at least 80 people by that date and the U.S. sent in an “extraction force” to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and deliver them to the United States to be indicted for narcotics trafficking. President Trump immediately claimed that the U.S. would be “running Venezuela” and “fixing the oil production problem”. He went on in the next 24 hours to issue a string of threats against the Venezuelan interim government led by Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba and Greenland. By February, the US had tightened the blockade of Cuba, deepening a humanitarian crisis on the island, stating its goal was to bring down the government, a thorn in the side of U.S. imperialism since its 1959 revolution and declaration of socialism. 

It couldn’t be clearer that the U.S. intervention in Honduras' elections, escalation of military action against Venezuela, and attempt to strangle Cuba are,  despite Trump’s frequent incoherence, very coherent steps in a strategic plan for the Western Hemisphere that was spelled out in the December 4th publication of the “National Security Strategy”. That plan includes the “Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine” and relies on destabilizing governments that show any independence from or opposition to U.S. goals. It means bringing back ultra-right governments allied with and subservient to the U.S. This plan is anchored in the historical reality of U.S. actions in Latin America but is aimed at establishing a new iron clad dominance against all rivals and challenges in the Western Hemisphere and using chaos to create stability for U.S. economic and political interests. “We’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States” claimed Marco Rubio on NBC on January 4th, 2026

It also is obvious that stopping drug trafficking into the United States is not the goal. In support of the right-wing National Party and its candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura the U.S. choice for president in Honduras, Trump issued a pardon for the former National Party narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) who was convicted and sentenced in the U.S. for running a cartel during his regime that trafficked 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. 

Honduras Elections: The U.S. tests its power in Honduras. 

U.S. interference on behalf of the Honduran right wing and both U.S. and Honduran elite and corporate interests has a long history. That history includes supporting the 2009 coup d'état and former President and drug trafficker JOH’s regime until he was pushed out in the 2021 election of the self-proclaimed democratic socialist government of Xiomara Castro. Immediately after the 2021elections, U.S. corporations and government began using traditional tactics of threats, public disapproval of policies, and free trade invest-state dispute (ISDS) claims as well as an unrelenting social media campaign to paint Castro’s party, the Liberty and Refoundational Party (LIBRE) as an extremist threat to prosperity, foreign investment,stability. After Trump's election in 2024, as Honduras moved into its 2025 election period and the elections became a test of U.S. power, the interference campaign intensified.  At the end of November 2025 as Hondurans went to the polls, Trump publicly called for the election of Nasry “Tito” Asfura of the National Party and threatened to cut all aid if Hondurans did not vote for Asfura. Trump also went ahead and pardoned JOH, releasing him from a U.S. prison in the days following the 2025 elections.   

Prior to Trump’s declarations, popular opinion placed two Presidential candidates, Rixi Moncada of the LIBRE party and Salvador Nasralla representing the Liberal party. On election day as votes came in in the midst of Trump’s public declarations and threats, results came in showing a statistical tie between the Liberal party and National party with LIBRE a distant 3rd. The Liberal Party candidate, Salvador Nasralla, a center-right ally of LIBRE, opposed the JOH pardon but tried to curry favor with Washington DC, promising to break relations with Venezuela and China if elected. However, Trump, the wealthy elite of Honduras including the traditional fractions inside the Liberal party, doubled down in support of Asfura.

In many races including the Presidency and the mayor election in Tegucigalpa, technical ties and legitimate concerns of fraud prolonged certainty about the electoral results in the month following the elections. In the hours and days immediately following election day, it became clear that any chance of fair and clean elections were undercut by manipulation of both the voters and the voting process. One example of this are mass anonymous text messages that were sent out threatening to cut off remittance payments from migrants in the U.S. to their families at home. There were discrepancies in ballot tallies, unscheduled computer system shutdowns, and violations of election regulations including the failure to verify the identity of registered voters at the polls with the provided biometric system. With Trump backing Asfura and little political will by the electoral representatives of the two traditional parties (National and Liberal parties) to verify vote-by-vote the electoral outcome, negotiations took place to determine the results of the elections. A month after the elections, when the National Electoral Council formally announced the electoral results including declaring Nasry “Tito” Asfura as the Presidential winner, approximately 11% of ballots were never reconciled and recounted despite several legal challenges requesting that this occur. The declaration of Asfura as winner was not only premature, it did not follow election protocols and there was obvious collusion of the National and Liberal Parties in refusing to recount. Despite all these flashing red lights and of no surprise to Hondurans, the election was rubber-stamped by the Organization of America States (OAS) that in the past like in 2017, certified Honduran election results despite widespread allegations of fraud. Nasry Asfura was sworn in as president on January 27, 2026. 

More details 

What Happens Now?

Uncertainty and anxiety about what happens next in Honduras are palpable in the country. With sentenced drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández free in the United States and still with tremendous power in the ruling National party, Honduras fear the return of the narco-dictatorship. The new government is already taking steps towards implementing a neoliberal offensive that will have serious consequences for the Honduran people. The consequences include rampant corruption and impunity, repression, privatization of the public institutions and goods, and an end to social programs aimed at assisting the poor. Following a similar pattern to the entrance of the Trump regime in the U.S., the Asfura government has already announced their intention to implement massive layoffs and closures of government agencies and immediately started introducing laws and taking actions to protect foreign and Honduran corporate interests. The HSN remains alert to and supports the demands and rights of the people and their social movements and we will continue to monitor and oppose interference by imperialism in Honduras and in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

We will share more updates going forward. 

February 24, 2026

March 2, 2026 marks nine years since the assassination of the anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist Honduran Indigenous social movement leader, Berta Cáceres in 2016. This year we celebrate Berta’s life and continue to demand justice.  Her anti-imperialist efforts inspire us to denounce Donald Trump’s threats to seize the Panama Canal, send troops into Mexico, and bankrupt any Latin American nation that defies him. Trump is terrorizing entire migrant and refugee communities in the U.S. that include the thousands of Hondurans who fled their country due to the effects of the 2009 U.S.-backed coup d'etat and 13 years of narco-dictatorship.  

The Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) emphasizes that Donald Trump’s current wave of bullying extremism is an escalation of US intervention in the region but not an entirely new direction. It is a continuation of the historical and bipartisan US policies in Latin America that destroy possibilities for decent, safe lives for the majority of the people.

The change of government in Honduras in 2022 and proposed reforms by the new President Xiomara Castro have faced interference from US and Canadian corporations and the US State Department from the beginning.  Under Trump 2025, the Honduras Solidarity Network is extremely concerned about even more aggressive interference, especially as the Honduras national elections approach in November 2025. 

Justice for Berta Cáceres is still incomplete

Honduras remains one of the deadliest countries in the world for human rights, land and environmental defenders.During the years of the post-2009 coup regimes, the U.S. and Canadian governments and corporations facilitated the systematic violation of human rights, including militarized repression against environmental, land, Indigenous, and human rights defenders.The Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) regime received hundreds of thousands of US taxpayer dollars in security aid and training from the United States government despite the warning bells, including several Congressional letters advising the US government about the serious human rights abuses occurring under JOH. These policies were consistent under Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden until JOH was convicted of narcotics trafficking and other crimes in a U.S. federal court.  

Berta Cáceres was a founder of the Indigenous organization COPINH (the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations in Honduras) and a tireless organizer against dictatorship, militarization, and US interventions in Honduras as well as a defender of the land and natural resources and Indigenous communities. Berta was assassinated in her home on March 2, 2016, as she tirelessly led opposition to the illegal construction of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam by DESA (Desarrollos Energéticos S.A.), a private company owned by the powerful Atala Zablah family in Honduras. In violation of international law, the local Indigenous Lenca community was not consulted and did not give prior consent for the project, and the dam generated years of violence and conflict in the affected communities near the dam

 Berta’s family and organization,with Honduran and international supporters have waged a long and arduous battle for justice for her, confronting powerful economic and political interests working for impunity for those involved. Extended delays by the courts in confirming some of the sentences, as well as relatively light penalties for some of those convicted have postponed justice. It was not until 2019 that seven hired hitmen, including employees of DESA, were  sentenced to between 30 and 50 years of imprisonment for her assassination. In July 2021, David Castillo, the general manager of DESA, and former military officer was convicted as a co-author of the crime and sentenced to 22 years.

Masterminds still untouched

Meanwhile other powerful masterminds of Berta’s assassination have yet to be seriously investigated or charged. Among those implicated but not charged are members of the Atala Zablah family, several of whom were on DESA’s Board of Directors and held other important positions in the company. Honduran prosecutors report that cell phone data and messages suggest that Daniel Atala Midence, Chief Financial Officer of DESA, was involved more directly in the assassination.

In February 2025, COPINH announced a new initiative to fight for justice for Berta: the installation of a new independent expert investigative group called the GIEI (Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes, or Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts). The GIEI will take up where a previous independent group (GAIPE) left off and pursue the investigation in order to identify and insist on prosecution of all those who masterminded and authorized the assassination. 

We share the hope that the installation of the GIEI and the continuing persistent fight against impunity will expose all those involved and bring the masterminds of Berta’s assassination to justice.  The Honduras Solidarity Network continues to support  the  demands for  justice for Berta and for all those subjected to violence and repression in Honduras. We also continue to insist on accountability for the U.S. and Canadian corporations and governments for their role in facilitating these crimes against the people in Honduras. 

TAKE ACTION

Demand justice for Berta Cáceres and other land and environmental and Indigenous defenders in Honduras. Join us in amplifying support  by taking action in a social media campaign beginning March 3, sharing messages from the HSN and from COPINH and Honduran social movements across social media using #JusticeForBerta, #JusticiaParaBerta, #BertaVive. Below are some of the messages we will be circulating. 

Commemorating Berta’s Life  -  HSN message content

• #BertaVive |  On this day, we commemorate Berta’s life and struggle against imperialist and capitalist exploitation in Honduras. Today, we are reminded of the importance of her legacy in the struggle against the escalation of imperialist violence in this Trump administration. 

• International multilateral development banks are complicit in the murder of Berta Caceres, Indigenous environmental defender. #JusticeForBerta means #JusticeForHonduras in the struggle against extractive projects backed by international investors. 

• USAID had a partnership with DESA, the project which aimed to install a hydroelectric plan within an ancestral Lenca river. Our US taxpayer dollars supported the violence against Berta Cáceres, a Lenca leader and land defender in Honduras. #JusticiaParaBerta 
  

• #JusticiaParaBerta | We applaud the implementation of the #GIEI in the struggle to find justice in the murder of Berta Cáceres. The #GIEI seeks to fight impunity in Honduras by identifying the masterminds of her murder and creating an integral reparations plan for the Lenca communities affected by extractivism. 

• Today, we are reminded of Berta Cáceres and her important struggle against neocolonial violence in Honduras. Her legacy reminds us the importance of opposing violent extractivist projects at the service of the national elite and multilateral development banks. #JusticiaParaBerta 

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Honduras Solidarity Network

El 2 de marzo de 2025 se cumplen nueve años del asesinato de la líder del movimiento social indígena hondureño anticapitalista y antiimperialista, Berta Cáceres, en 2016. Este año celebramos la vida de Berta y seguimos exigiendo justicia.  Sus esfuerzos antiimperialistas nos inspiran a denunciar las amenazas de Donald Trump de apoderarse del Canal de Panamá, enviar tropas a México y llevar a la bancarrota a cualquier nación latinoamericana que lo desafíe. Trump está aterrorizando a comunidades enteras de migrantes y refugiados en Estados Unidos, incluidos los miles de hondureños que huyeron de su país debido a los efectos del golpe de Estado de 2009 respaldado por Estados Unidos y 13 años de narcodictadura.  

La Red de Solidaridad con Honduras (HSN) enfatiza que la actual ola de extremismo intimidatorio de Donald Trump es una escalada de la intervención estadounidense en la región, pero no una dirección totalmente nueva. Es una continuación de las políticas históricas y bipartidistas de EE.UU. en América Latina que destruyen las posibilidades de una vida digna y segura para la mayoría del pueblo.

El cambio de gobierno en Honduras en 2022 y las reformas propuestas por la nueva presidenta Xiomara Castro se han enfrentado desde el principio a la interferencia de corporaciones estadounidenses y canadienses y del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos.  Bajo Trump 2025, la Red de Solidaridad con Honduras está extremadamente preocupada por una interferencia aún más agresiva, especialmente a medida que se acercan las elecciones nacionales de Honduras en noviembre de 2025.

La búsqueda de justicia para Berta Cáceres es una batalla continua, y está lejos de terminar.

Honduras sigue siendo uno de los países más mortíferos del mundo para los defensores de los derechos humanos, la tierra y el medio ambiente. Durante los años de los regímenes golpistas posteriores a 2009, los gobiernos y empresas estadounidenses y canadienses facilitaron la violación sistemática de los derechos humanos, incluida la represión militarizada contra los defensores del medio ambiente, la tierra, los indígenas y los derechos humanos. El régimen de Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) recibió cientos de miles de dólares de los contribuyentes estadounidenses en ayuda y formación en materia de seguridad por parte del gobierno de Estados Unidos a pesar de las señales de alarma, incluidas varias cartas del Congreso en las que se advertía al gobierno estadounidense de los graves abusos contra los derechos humanos que se estaban produciendo bajo el régimen de JOH. Estas políticas fueron coherentes bajo los presidentes Obama, Trump y Biden hasta que JOH fue condenado por narcotráfico y otros delitos en un tribunal federal estadounidense.

Berta Cáceres fue fundadora de la organización indígena COPINH (Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras) e incansable organizadora contra la dictadura, la militarización y las intervenciones estadounidenses en Honduras, así como defensora de la tierra y los recursos naturales y de las comunidades indígenas. Berta fue asesinada en su casa el 2 de marzo de 2016, mientras lideraba incansablemente la oposición a la construcción ilegal de la presa hidroeléctrica Agua Zarca por parte de DESA (Desarrollos Energéticos S.A.), empresa privada propiedad de la poderosa familia Atala Zablah de Honduras. En violación del derecho internacional, no se consultó a la comunidad indígena lenca local. No dio su consentimiento previo al proyecto, y la presa generó años de violencia y conflictos en las comunidades afectadas cercanas a la presa.

Junto con simpatizantes hondureños e internacionales, la familia y la organización de Berta han librado una larga y ardua batalla para que se haga justicia con ella, enfrentándose a poderosos intereses económicos y políticos que trabajan por la impunidad de los implicados. Los prolongados retrasos de los tribunales en confirmar algunas de las sentencias y las penas relativamente leves para algunos de los condenados han pospuesto la justicia. No fue hasta 2019 cuando siete sicarios a sueldo, entre ellos empleados de DAESH, fueron condenados a penas de entre 30 y 50 años de prisión por su asesinato. En julio de 2021, David Castillo, director general de DAESH y ex militar, fue declarado culpable como coautor del crimen y condenado a 22 años.

Los autores intelectuales siguen sin ser investigados

Mientras tanto, otros poderosos autores intelectuales del asesinato de Berta aún no han sido investigados seriamente ni acusados. Entre los implicados pero no acusados se encuentran miembros de la familia Atala Zablah, varios de los cuales formaban parte del Consejo de Administración de DESA y ocupaban otros cargos importantes en la empresa. Los fiscales hondureños informan de que los datos y mensajes de teléfonos móviles sugieren que Daniel Atala Midence, director financiero de DESA, estuvo implicado más directamente en el asesinato.

En febrero de 2025, el COPINH anunció una nueva iniciativa para luchar por la justicia para Berta: la instalación de un nuevo grupo de investigación de expertos independientes llamado GIEI (Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes). El GIEI recogerá el testigo dejado por el anterior grupo independiente (GAIPE) y proseguirá la investigación para identificar e insistir en el procesamiento de todos aquellos que idearon y autorizaron el asesinato.

Compartimos la esperanza de que la instalación del GIEI y la persistente lucha contra la impunidad desenmascaren a todos los implicados y lleven ante la justicia a los autores intelectuales del asesinato de Berta.  La Red de Solidaridad con Honduras sigue apoyando las demandas de justicia para Berta y todas las personas sometidas a la violencia y la represión en Honduras. También seguimos insistiendo en la rendición de cuentas de las empresas y gobiernos de Estados Unidos y Canadá por su papel en facilitar estos crímenes contra el pueblo de Honduras.

ACTÚA
Únete a nosotros para exigir justicia para Berta Cáceres y otros defensores de la tierra, el medio ambiente y los pueblos indígenas de Honduras. Amplifica tu apoyo participando en nuestra campaña en las redes sociales a partir del 3 de marzo. Comparte mensajes del HSN, COPINH, y movimientos sociales hondureños usando #JusticeForBerta, #JusticiaParaBerta, y #BertaVive.

A continuación algunos de los mensajes que estaremos circulando

Conmemorando la vida de Berta - Contenido del mensaje HSN
#BertaVive | En este día, conmemoramos la vida de Berta y su lucha contra la explotación imperialista y capitalista en Honduras. Hoy recordamos la importancia de su legado en la lucha contra la escalada de violencia imperialista de la administración Trump.
Los bancos multilaterales de desarrollo internacionales son cómplices del asesinato de Berta Cáceres, defensora indígena del medio ambiente. #JusticiaParaBerta significa #JusticiaParaHonduras en la lucha contra los proyectos extractivos respaldados por inversores internacionales.
USAID se asoció con DESA, el proyecto que pretendía instalar un plan hidroeléctrico dentro de un río ancestral Lenca. Los dólares de nuestros contribuyentes estadounidenses apoyaron la violencia contra Berta Cáceres, líder lenca y defensora de la tierra en Honduras. #JusticiaParaBerta
#JusticiaParaBerta | Aplaudimos la implementación del #GIEI en la lucha por encontrar justicia en el asesinato de Berta Cáceres. El #GIEI busca combatir la impunidad en Honduras, identificando a los autores intelectuales de su asesinato y creando un plan de reparación integral para las comunidades lencas afectadas por el extractivismo.
Hoy recordamos a Berta Cáceres y su importante lucha contra la violencia neocolonial en Honduras. Su legado nos recuerda la importancia de oponernos a los violentos proyectos extractivistas al servicio de la élite nacional y la banca multilateral de desarrollo. #JusticiaParaBerta

June 28, 2023   

On this year’s anniversary of the US and Canada-supported 2009 coup d’etat, the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) honors the years of resistance in Honduras to that coup and the 13 years of dictatorship it installed. We recognize that today the Honduran people continue to fight to dismantle all the structures of the post-coup dictatorship and are up against the same powerful forces they faced in 2009. One of those powerful forces is the United States government which not only has never acknowledged its role in the coup and the subsequent installation of a repressive dictatorship but instead, continues to interfere and conspire against the much-needed changes proposed by President Xiomara Castro and her government. 

This June 2023 we echo the concerns of Honduran and international solidarity organizations about threats against President Xiomara Castro’s government and the efforts to stop the reforms it is trying to implement.  Pro-2009 coup (golpistas) and right-wing groups have called openly for a coup to bring down the Castro government. They manipulate public opinion in attempts to block changes and to protect themselves in impunity for past and ongoing violence against people's movements.

The U.S. meanwhile is busy at work drawing on its imperialist ‘toolbox’ used to control or overturn governments across the region. In Honduras since President Castro’s inauguration in January 2022, the U.S. has hammered the Castro government both via Twitter and public speeches against new policies. For example, the U.S. Ambassador interferes in reforms aimed at improving access to electricity for poor Hondurans. The Ambassador supported union-busting during the construction of the new U.S. “fortress” embassy and publicly opposes labor law reform that seeks to improve, not weaken, labor standards. Not only does the U.S. oppose the repeal of the ZEDES law which hands over sovereignty to foreign corporations ownership of “Charter Cities” but also backs these same corporations' use of the Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system. This is despite the fact that ISDS was repudiated by the US in the reform of the NAFTA agreement (USMCA). As the Honduran government proposes a tax reform that would require US and Honduran corporations and the wealthy elite to at last pay taxes, the U.S. once again felt it had the right to critique the reform, working alongside the wealthy business class to protest against it. (For more details, see the HSN and Honduras Now’s US Intervention Monitor here or at hondurasnow.org/us-intervention-monitor/). 

Besides directly challenging reforms and adding to the noise against the new government, the U.S. is also cynically using the banner of human rights and anti-corruption to undermine the changes needed to tackle human rights and corruption.  Barely a word was spoken by the State Department about human rights issues during the 2009-2022 dictatorship when there were constant attacks on protesters, human rights defenders, women and girls, and land defenders. From 2009-2021 more than 300 campesinos were assassinated for claiming their right to land, many indigenous leaders including Berta Cáceres and at least 23 Garifuna leaders were murdered by the dictatorship. The corruption of the dictatorship included the outright theft of millions of dollars in public funds for health care, education, and infrastructure by the narco-government run by Juan Orlando Hernández and the National Party. The U.S. maintained its political and economic support for “our partner in Honduras, President Juan Orlando Hernández” all those years and now continues to partner with members of the right-wing National Party, Liberal Party, and the Honduran elite. 

There are human rights issues that persist in Honduras under President Castro, and the HSN continues to be concerned about the murder of campesinos in the Aguán Valley, threats, attacks, and criminalization of Garifuna land defenders, and the use of the military in the prisons and on the streets. But instead of creating a space for the President Castro administration to tackle these issues, the U.S. continues to interfere to maintain the status quo, which favors U.S. geopolitical and economic interests above and before human rights, justice, and the rule of law. 

The HSN is adamant about the role of the U.S. in Honduras, but note that the post-coup narco-dictatorship was propped up and supposed by a U.S.-led coalition of governments including Canada, transnational business interests, and international financial institutions. Shamefully, this U.S.-led coalition worked hand-in-hand (knowingly or unknowingly) with drug cartels, to fund the dictatorship’s political programs and fraudulent elections. The Canadian government and Canadian mining companies reaped economic and political benefits from the post-coup regimes, including a new Mining Law. The World Bank funded JOH’s ‘Vida Mejor’ social programs, helping the National Party to buy votes and commit electoral fraud in at least the 2017 elections, while ensuring the continuation of the global neoliberal model that favors the wealthy and further impoverishes the poor. 

Not only does the U.S. interfere in domestic policy in Honduras but it also pressures Honduras on its foreign policy. In fact during her first year as President, Castro rescinded certain international campaign promises under pressure from the U.S. Nevertheless, Honduras has recently taken some international actions contrary to the U.S. pressures, including applying to join the BRICS group and more  participation with Mexico and Colombia in defending their sovereignty in the face of a renewed pattern of soft and hard threats of coups against progressive governments in Latin America. 

The Honduras Solidarity Network stands with the Honduran people and peoples’ movements that are struggling to recover from the dictatorship and refound their country. We stand against U.S. and Canadian pressure aimed at crippling the new government so that corporations from the global North can continue to exploit Honduras. 

We say, “Never Again!” to coup-mongering and interventions against people’s movements in Honduras. We encourage our supporters and allies to stay tuned for the upcoming New York-based trial of ex-President and accused drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández, the former head of the Honduran National police, Juan Carlos “El Tigre” Bonilla, and police officer Mauricio Hernández. The HSN will aim to put the U.S., Canada, and all those that rallied behind the narco-dictatorship ‘on trial’ for the destruction and damage that their support for the dictatorship has and continues to have in Honduras. 

It is time that the U.S. and Canada be held accountable for aiding and abetting the narco-dictatorship while turning a blind eye to violence and serious human rights violations in their efforts to promote their own geo-political and economic interests. No more impunity! 

Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN). 

In November 2021, Hondurans and international observers like ourselves, were relieved that the U.S. government publicly accepted the Honduran election results, and the will of the Honduran people. The victory of Honduras’ first ever woman President, Xiomara Castro began the restoration of democracy in the country following nearly 13 years of a violent and corrupt dictatorship supported by multiple U.S. administrations.

Less than a year since President Castro took office, we are now alarmed by public statements, actions, and tweets from the U.S. Ambassador Laura Dogu, State Department officials, and some members of the U.S. Senate that are actively interfering in Honduras’ internal affairs. These efforts appear to be aimed at undermining the new government and its policy agenda.

There are numerous examples of the tweets and statements pressuring Honduras about internal and foreign policy. On October 25, Ambassador Dogu spoke at a meeting of the Honduran American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). She targeted Honduran initiatives passed or in discussion in Honduras’ National Congress that were part of President Castro’s election platform. She strongly criticized reforms and changes to coup-dictatorship laws in the energy sector and labor law. Dogu accused the Honduran government of eliminating incentives for business investment saying, “even in the US Congress there is worry about how foreign investment is being treated in Honduras”.

That statement refers to the overturning, by a unanimous vote in the new Congress, of the “Special Development Zones - ZEDES” law that allowed for the creation of private corporate ownership (outside the control of the Honduran government) of “charter” cities. Her statement can only be seen as State Department support for a letter from Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Hagerty (R-TN) backing one of those private ZEDE corporations, Honduras Próspera. The Senators' letter echoed extremely conservative critics of President Castro’s speech at the United Nations and called for the State Department to intervene against the Honduran government (and therefore against the Honduran Congressional vote) on behalf of Próspera. This direct U.S. intervention related to the ZEDEs comes as Honduras Próspera announces that it will begin an arbitration process under the Dominican Republic -Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), allegedly seeking lost investment. 

The Honduran government has made clear its position on the importance of good bilateral relations and economic assistance from the US while strongly objecting to interference in domestic and international affairs. The issues are serious enough that the Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina, on request from President Castro, called the U.S. Ambassador to a meeting on October 31st to formally present their complaints and protests regarding the intervention. 

Given the US history of interference in internal affairs in Honduras and support for coups d’états including the 2009 coup, public interventions such as the Cardin/Hagerty letter and Ambassador Dogu's statements are very dangerous for democracy in Honduras. The U.S. pressure on Congress, is occuring at a time when supporters of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, now facing trial in New York for narco trafficking, are echoing Dogu and the Senator's statements while calling for a new coup against the just-elected Castro presidency. 

The U.S. owes a debt to the Honduran people for its support of the coup government for twelve years as Honduras was destroyed with massive violations of human rights, economic collapse, and the rending of the social fabric that displaced thousands who fled the country. We had hoped that seeing these results, the State Department would now respect Honduran sovereignty and the will of its people. However, it appears that they are not. 

Once again, we call on the U.S. government to stop interfering in the domestic affairs of Honduras. If the U.S. is serious about the Biden administration's promise to get to the root causes of migration, then they should reflect on the lessons of history and not repeat it. The Honduran Solidarity Network in North America joins with the Honduran and international voices raised against attempts to push Honduras back towards the past!

Punta Gorda, November 7, 2022 

This is to communicate to  the national and International community that the Garifuna community of Punta Gorda, Bay Islands, Roatan, the first Garifuna community, suffered an ILLEGAL, VIOLENT, COWARDLY and RACIST eviction from its Ancestral territory by the National Police, Armed Forces and the DPI (Police Bureau of Investigation). The community of Punta Gorda was founded by Garifuna ancestors on April 12, 1797, constituting the first Garifuna community in the Central American territory, before the signing of the Independence Act (1821) and much before the Bay Islands were turned over to the Republic of Honduras (April 22,1861),

During this terrorist assault that violated our autonomy and  the free self determination of our people, Melisa Martinez, Dorotez Aru, Luis Moises Dolmo, Richard Martinez, Keyder Tishany Gonzalez and Abad Gomez were detained. Furthermore 50 brothers and sisters were substantially injured and another 15 were seriously injured. Our brothers and sisters remain detained in the filthy and disgusting cells of the National Police in Coxen Hole, Roatan, guarded as if they were the most dangerous criminals in this country. 

As established by the CIDH, the Interamerican Court and Convenio 169 of the ILO, the Garifuna People own the right to the property and dominion over the lands and resources established from ancestral occupation and therefore have the right to legal recognition as the legitimate owners of their territory, making any forced displacement  illegal and racist.

We are  not invaders, we are not usurpers, we are the legitimate OWNERS of our ancestral territories. For that reason we Proclaim:

1. We demand  LIBERTY, LIBERTY and LIBERTY immediately  for our brothers and sisters.

2. We have again taken possession of our recuperated ANCESTRAL TERRITORY, which we will never renounce.

3. We are convening an URGENT General Assembly of the community for November 8 at 3pm in the reclaimed area, “Wageira”. 

4. If our brothers and sisters are not freed we will close off access to any third party that tries to pass through the main street of our community, including workers, tourists, buses, private cars or any other transport, until our brothers and sisters are freed and our ancestral territory is returned. 

5. We condemn the servile attitude of the provincial representatives of the National Human Rights Commission (CONADEH)  who, instead of placing themselves on the side of the victims, and, taking advantage of the “lift” from the National Police, backed up and legitimized this violent eviction. 

6. We demand that the Police return the work equipment stolen from our community which we obtained through great sacrifice.

7.  We make an urgent call to the rest of the Garifuna communities in Honduras and OFRANEH ( Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras) to be present in our community to demand liberty for our brothers and sisters and respect for the rights to the ancestral and collective property of our community. 

Free Them Now!

Without territory there is no identity!

Garifuna land is not merchandise, it cannot be loaned out, rented, sold or purchased!

Signed by the Committee in Defense of the Land of Punta Gorda 

The Honduras Solidarity Network in the U.S. condemns and views with the greatest concern the false accusations against the representative of an international human rights and solidarity organization, Rights Action, made by Colonel German Alfaro, commander of the Xantruch II forces in the Lower Aguan Valley.

Rights Action is a member organization of this network and has a long record of working with communities at risk in Central America. Annie Bird is well known and respected in the US as well as in Central America for her work for many years in defense of human rights. The accusations are patently false and designed to discredit international and national human rights defenders. Furthermore we denounce the remarks as being an implicit threat against the physical integrity of Annie Bird, and we hold Colonel Alfaro and the Honduran authorities at all levels responsible for her well-being.

Colonel Alfaro’s remarks are part of an orchestrated campaign to discredit and intimidate international human rights and solidarity organizations and to isolate the political and social movements in opposition to the coup and its continuation, especially the most unprotected and vulnerable indigenous and campesino communities.

Other of our member organizations were subjected to intimidation as they served as credentialed Electoral Tribunal (TSE) International Accompaniers observing the November 24th elections. Immigration services, currently militarized in Honduras, raided the center in Progreso where the internationals were being trained by the Electoral Tribunal, as well as the offices of the Honduran Jesuit organization ERIC-SJ. When our members reported to the immigration offices in San Pedro Sula as requested, the official in charge there repeated similar wild accusations that there were international observers in the country to intimidate people and to create subversion. His statements and manner were obviously intended to intimidate our members and, as he stated that the raids were part of a nationally ordered operation supported by the US Embassy, it must be interpreted as an official statement.

The campaign against human rights defenders is also directed at Honduran human rights defenders such as the internationally known COFADEH and its staff including its director, Berta Olvia. Berta Oliva has been publicly accused by government officials of betraying the country as she fulfills her responsibilities as a defender by communicating information and raising alarms over the deteriorating human rights situation in Honduras.

Since the day of the election (November 24th), 5 LIBRE leaders and supporters have been murdered, one journalist and newly elected LIBRE Congressman was forced to flee the country in the face of a plan to kill him, a son of a LIBRE and trade union leader was kidnapped and his life threatened. There are daily threats against LIBRE members and social activists. Campesino and indigenous communities and their defenders are the target of slander and violence.

In the face of these conditions, the Honduras Solidarity Network remains dedicated to “walking with the Honduran people” and working against US military and security aid and training for the forces responsible for the violence.

Members of the Honduras Solidarity Network, USA

Alliance for Global Justice

Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Committee (BALASC)

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)

Colectivo Honduras USA Resistencia=LIBRE

Friendship Office of the Americas

Hondureños En Resistencia - Northern California

La Voz de los de Abajo-Chicago

Latin America Solidarity Committee-Milwaukee

Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas

Portland Central America Solidarity Coalition (PCASC)

HSN Rejects Intimidation and Attacks on Human Rights Defenders

SOA Watch (National)

SOA Watch San Francisco

SOA Watch Oakland

St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America

U.S. - El Salvador Sister Cities

Witness for Peace Southwest

December 18, 2013

Another anniversary of the June 28, 2009 coup d’etat that changed Honduras forever is here. This year, on this date, the Honduras Solidarity Network of North America (HSN) not only reaffirms continuing solidarity with the Honduran social movements and opposition to the US policies in the region that continue destructive interventionism and interference, but we also join the commemorations of struggle and celebration by the Honduran people of their victory in electing a government born out of the blood, sweat, and tears of years of resistance. This victory opens up a bigger space for the people and their movements to continue fighting for the re-foundation of their country. Still, they face powerful enemies and obstacles in their path.  

June 28, 2009

On this day a public referendum was set to take place for the people to vote on adding a referendum to the scheduled national elections in November 2009 that would decide whether to convene a constituent assembly to reform the constitution. This referendum, on top of the numerous progressive reforms in Honduras and its increasingly warm relations with the ALBA nations, including Venezuela, put in place by then-president Manuel Zelaya Rosales, brought on the fury of the Honduran right-wing oligarchs. At dawn on the 28th, Honduran military units stormed the presidential residence. They kidnapped President Zelaya putting him on an airplane that, after stopping at the US military base (Palmerola), flew to Costa Rica and left him on the tarmac. 

The reaction from the Honduran people was outraged and immediate. Hundreds, then thousands, poured into the streets. Across the rural areas, campesino and indigenous communities blocked the highways. These protests were met with violent repression but continued to grow. There were hundreds of injuries and arrests, and security forces killed some protesters in the first few weeks, but resistance continued. There was also a quick response from solidarity and human rights organizations in the US and Canada. Groups, including many organizations that joined together not long afterward to found the HSN, rushed observers to Honduras. In the US, they organized protests and pressured the Obama administration to stop support for the coup. 

While the Honduran people began organizing for long-term resistance, the US settled into long-term backing for the coup dictatorship. The US supported and benefited from the years of aggressive and violent neoliberalism that would increase the extractive economy based on mining and hydroelectric projects, further land grabbing by the agro-industry companies and oligarchs, and ensure subservience to US foreign policy and wars. This led to the near-collapse of the privatized and plundered public education and public health systems, murders by death-squad groups and security forces of activists across the country, and a terrible increase in poverty, crime, and general violence. The eight years (2014-2022) of the narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) were also marked by the forced displacement of millions of Hondurans internally and hundreds of thousands forced to leave Honduras altogether. 

June 28, 2022

The election in November 2021 and inauguration in January 2022 of President Xiomara Castro of the Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) Party in coalition with smaller opposition parties is the victory of 13 years of resistance by the Honduran people. During the first five months of the new government, many important promises have been kept and progress made, but the obstacles to reforms- let alone deeper changes- are enormous. The narco-dictatorship economic and political structures are deeply entrenched, including having representation in Congress and among the government civil service employees. The judges at all levels of the court system are still those appointed by Juan Orlando Hernandez. Xiomara Castro inherited a country that is nearly bankrupt and in debt, facing forces that oppose change. 

The United States and Canadian governments and international financial institutions are among the forces against “too much” change. The US seems to have realized that the JOH narco-dictatorship had become too exposed and untenable and that the opposition to JOH in Honduras had grown too broad to directly challenge. It recognized that Xiomara Castro won the election and sent Vice President Kamala Harris to the inauguration. From day one, it has also pressured the new government to limit its independence from US international interests and even to limit its plan to dismantle the neoliberal and extractive economic model.

The Honduran social movements: the organizations of the Indigenous and Black peoples, small farmers, workers, women, and students, are supporting their new government while continuing to fight for their proposals and the promise of refoundation in Honduras. As international solidarity and human rights organizations in the US and Canada - we continue to stand with the social movements. We continue to tell our governments and corporations to stop interfering, to stop using money and a military presence to control and limit Honduras’ progress in undoing the damage of the past 13 years.  

Follow the Honduras Solidarity Network on Facebook and Twitter @hondurassol. We are working on a campaign to support debt relief for Honduras that is urgently needed for the project of rebuilding and refounding the country after 13 years of disaster. We are also a part of the “Justice for Berta” campaign led by COPINH, which is fighting to ensure that all those involved in her assassination are brought to justice. To sign up for our informational list serve email us at honsolnetwork@gmail.com 

28 de junio de 2009 - 28 de junio de 2022  

Solidaridad con Honduras 13 años después

Se cumple un nuevo aniversario del golpe de Estado del 28 de junio de 2009 que cambió a Honduras para siempre. Este año, en esta fecha, la Red de Solidaridad con Honduras de América del Norte (HSN) no sólo reafirma la continuidad de la solidaridad con los movimientos sociales hondureños y la oposición a las políticas de Estados Unidos en la región que continúan con el intervencionismo y la injerencia destructiva, sino que también nos unimos a las conmemoraciones de lucha y celebración del pueblo hondureño por su victoria al elegir un gobierno nacido de la sangre, el sudor y las lágrimas de años de resistencia. Esta victoria abre un espacio mayor para que el pueblo y sus movimientos sigan luchando por la refundación de su país. Sin embargo, se enfrentan a poderosos enemigos y obstáculos en su camino.  

28 de junio de 2009

En ese día estaba previsto un referéndum público para que el pueblo votara sobre la adición de un referéndum a las elecciones nacionales previstas para noviembre de 2009, en el cual se decidiría si se convocaba una asamblea constituyente para reformar la Constitución. Este referéndum, además de las numerosas reformas progresistas en Honduras y sus relaciones cada vez más cálidas con las naciones del ALBA, incluida Venezuela, puestas en marcha por el entonces presidente Manuel Zelaya Rosales, provocó la furia de los oligarcas de la derecha hondureña. Al amanecer del día 28, unidades militares hondureñas asaltaron la residencia presidencial. Secuestraron al presidente Zelaya, subiéndolo a un avión que, tras hacer escala en la base militar estadounidense (Palmerola), voló a Costa Rica y lo dejó en la pista.

La reacción del pueblo hondureño fue inmediata y llena de indignación. Cientos, y luego miles, salieron a las calles. En las zonas rurales, las comunidades campesinas e indígenas bloquearon las carreteras. La violenta represión que recibió las protestas no pudo contener el descontento popular. Hubo cientos de heridos y detenciones, y las fuerzas de seguridad mataron a algunos manifestantes en las primeras semanas, pero la resistencia continuó. También hubo una rápida respuesta de las organizaciones de solidaridad y derechos humanos de Estados Unidos y Canadá. Varios grupos, incluyendo muchas organizaciones que se unieron poco después para fundar la HSN, enviaron rápidamente observadores a Honduras. En Estados Unidos, organizaron protestas y presionaron al gobierno de Obama para que dejara de apoyar el golpe.

Mientras el pueblo hondureño comenzaba a organizarse para una resistencia a largo plazo, EE.UU. optó por el apoyo a largo plazo a la dictadura golpista. Los EE.UU. patrocinaron y se beneficiaron de los años de neoliberalismo agresivo y violento que aumentaría la economía extractiva basada en proyectos mineros e hidroeléctricos, aumentaría el acaparamiento de tierras por parte de las empresas agroindustriales y los oligarcas, y garantizaría el servilismo a la política exterior y las guerras de EE.UU. Esto llevó al casi colapso de los sistemas privatizados y saqueados de educación y salud pública, a los asesinatos de activistas en todo el país por parte de los escuadrones de la muerte y las fuerzas de seguridad, y a un terrible aumento de la pobreza, la delincuencia y la violencia en general. Los ocho años (2014-2022) del narco dictador Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) también estuvieron marcados por el desplazamiento forzado de millones de hondureños internamente y cientos de miles obligados a abandonar Honduras por completo.

28 de junio de 2022

La elección en noviembre de 2021 y la toma de posesión en enero de 2022 de la presidenta Xiomara Castro del Partido Libertad y Refundación (LIBRE), en coalición con partidos de oposición más pequeños, es una victoria de 13 años de resistencia del pueblo hondureño. Durante los primeros cinco meses del nuevo gobierno, se han cumplido muchas promesas importantes y se han logrado avances, pero los obstáculos para las reformas -y ni hablar de los cambios más profundos- son enormes. Las estructuras económicas y políticas de la narcodictadura están profundamente arraigadas, incluso tienen representación en el Congreso y entre los empleados de la administración pública. Los jueces de todos los niveles del sistema judicial siguen siendo los nombrados por Juan Orlando Hernández. Xiomara Castro heredó un país casi en bancarrota y endeudado, enfrentado a fuerzas que se oponen al cambio.

Los gobiernos de Estados Unidos y Canadá, y las instituciones financieras internacionales, se encuentran entre las fuerzas que se oponen a un cambio "excesivo". Estados Unidos parece haberse dado cuenta de que la narcodictadura de JOH se había vuelto demasiado expuesta e insostenible y que la oposición a JOH en Honduras se había ampliado demasiado como para desafiarla directamente. Reconoció que Xiomara Castro ganó las elecciones y envió a la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris a la toma de posesión. Sin embargo, desde el primer día presionó al nuevo gobierno para que limitara su independencia de los intereses internacionales de EEUU e incluso para que limitara su plan de desmantelamiento del modelo económico neoliberal y extractivo.

Los movimientos sociales hondureños: las organizaciones de los pueblos indígenas y negros, de los pequeños agricultores, de los trabajadores, de las mujeres, de los estudiantes, están apoyando a su nuevo gobierno mientras siguen luchando por sus propuestas y la promesa de refundación en Honduras. Como organizaciones de solidaridad internacional y de derechos humanos en Estados Unidos y Canadá, seguimos apoyando a los movimientos sociales.  Seguimos diciendo a nuestros gobiernos y corporaciones que dejen de interferir, que dejen de usar el dinero y la presencia militar para controlar y limitar el progreso de Honduras. ¡Exigimos que le permitan al pueblo comenzar su reconstrucción después del daño de los últimos 13 años!

Sigue a la Red de Solidaridad con Honduras en Facebook y en Twitter @hondurassol. Estamos trabajando en una campaña para apoyar el alivio de la deuda de Honduras que se necesita urgentemente para el proyecto de reconstrucción y refundación del país después de 13 años de desastre.  También formamos parte de la campaña "Justicia para Berta" liderada por el COPINH que lucha para que todos los implicados en su asesinato sean juzgados.  Para inscribirse en nuestra lista de actualizaciones, envíenos un correo electrónico a honsolnetwork@gmail.com