The country’s Supreme Court of Justice said late Wednesday via Twitter that the judge had decided to grant the U.S. extradition request. Hernández has maintained that statements against him have been made by drug traffickers extradited by his government who wanted to seek revenge against him. He denies having any ties to drug traffickers.
Watch the Recording of our first session of our four-part Honduras Solidarity Webinar Series on March 15, and join us for the remaining three sessions the following Tuesdays!
The night of March 16 in Tegucigalpa, members and sympathizers of the National Party caused riots outside the Supreme Court of Justice and set fire to the Viva Berta Feminist Camp. The camp was set up under the coordination of comrades from the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Honduras, COPINH, and OFRANEH, together with various organizations and communities in struggle. We denounce this attack whose only intention is to attack the actions of justice for women and peoples and we stand in solidarity with the comrades of COPINH, OFRANEH, as well as with the various organizations and communities that make up this space of struggle.
On March 8, while hundreds were commemorating International Women’s Day, Guatemala’s conservative-controlled Congress approved the “Protection of Life and Family” law in a 101-8 vote. There are 160 seats in Congress. Hundreds of people during the weekend converged on the Guatemalan Congress to show their indignation at a new law they say threatens the rights of women and members of the LGBTQ community. But backlash against the law, as well as Giammattei’s veto threat, pushed the president of Guatemala’s Congress, Shirley Rivera, to say lawmakers would check whether it is constitutional. The legislation will come up for further debate on Tuesday, while more protests have been called for that same day, as advocates say their fight is far from over – even if this particular version of the law is ultimately halted.
The national Poor People’s Campaign will be holding a major event in Cleveland on Monday, March 14: the first of eight cities across the country: A National Call for Moral Revival Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly & Moral March on Washington and to the Polls Mobilization Tour. It will be led by the two national co-chairs, Rev William Barber. and Rev. Liz Theoharris. This will be a leadup move towards the Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 18, 2022.
Please join us for a 90-minute webinar focused on labor relations in Nicaragua, including questions such as: How does the current situation compare with the previous neoliberal years? How have trade union rights been restored since 2007? How are wages and benefits negotiated?
Bring your own questions! There will be ample time for discussion following our featured speakers.
Two key US Senators have proposed a major reform of US aid to Colombia that would make the US a stronger partner for peace and justice work in Colombia. Their 62-page “United States-Colombia Strategic Alliance Act of 2022″ proposal focuses on such things as rural development, women’s empowerment; protection for labor and peace activists; and the environment rather than on the US’ customary support for military programs. “This legislation underscores the importance of Colombia as our strongest partner in the region, and will support Colombia’s efforts to implement its landmark peace accords, protect human rights, and promote rural and economic development,” said one of the Democratic Senators, Tim Kaine in a written statement.
As then-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández’s term came to a close in January, many Hondurans hoped he would soon be extradited to the United States, following the path of his brother, Tony Hernández, who was sentenced to life in prison in the United States on drugs and weapons charges last year. But most people doubted it would actually happen: The now-former Honduran president, notorious for corruption, has remained a close U.S. ally throughout it all. Yet, only two weeks after he left office, the United States formerly requested his extradition. Hernández may seem to be an isolated bad apple in the war on drugs, the series of U.S.-sponsored military initiatives to stop drug trafficking in Latin America. But he’s not the only major political or military official in the region who has allegedly colluded with the very drug kingpins his country has received U.S support to fight. Rather than an aberration, Hernández is a window into the contradictions of the drug war itself, and his fall from grace speaks to deeper dysfunction within U.S.-led efforts to combat drug cartels—not just in Honduras but throughout Latin America.
On Nov. 16, 1989, an elite commando unit killed six priests — five Spaniards and one Salvadoran — along with their housekeeper and the housekeeper’s daughter in the priests’ residence. The killers tried to make the massacre appear as though it had been carried out by leftist guerrillas. Prosecutors allege that Cristiani knew of the military’s plan to eliminate the priests and did nothing to stop them. In a statement released by Cristiani’s daughter, the former leader denied the allegations. Now, A court in El Salvador ordered the capture of former President Alfredo Cristiani in relation to the massacre of the six priests and two others by soldiers.
Guatemala’s congress has increased prison sentences for women who have abortions, bucking a recent trend in Latin America toward expanding access to the procedures. Guatemalan women convicted of terminating their pregnancies can now face sentences up to 10 years that before were a maximum of three. The congress imposed even heavier penalties for doctors and others who assist women in ending pregnancies. Abortions are legal only when the life of the mother is at risk. The Guatemala legislation also explicitly prohibited same-sex marriage – which was already in effect illegal – and banned schools from teaching anything that could “deviate a child’s identity according to their birth gender”.
