Honduras did not experience civil war in the 1980s, but its geography (bordering El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua) made it a key location for US military operations: training Salvadoran soldiers, a base for Nicaraguan contras, military exercises for US troops. The notorious Honduran death squad Battalion 316 was created, funded and trained by the US. The state-sponsored terror resulted in the forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of approximately 200 people during the 1980s. Many more were abducted and tortured. The 2009 military coup d’etat spawned a resurgence of state repression against the civilian population that continues today. Join us for an evening of music, dance, appetizers and refreshments at IRTF’s annual Latin Dance on Saturday, June 13th! This event is a celebration of culture and solidarity, featuring talented dance instructers, delicious food, joyful movement, and connection with others (no partner needed)!
to register click here
Last month, approximately 300 students at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) in Tegucigalpa gathered to protest proposed reductions to the university budget and to demand compliance with the constitutional mandate guaranteeing funding for public higher education. During the protest, police forces deployed tear gas, armored vehicles, and rubber bullets against demonstrators. As a result of this repression, at least one student suffered severe injuries, including the loss of an eye.
Witness accounts indicate that the protest began as a peaceful demonstration and that students were exercising their legitimate democratic right to advocate for the protection of public education. Instead of facilitating and safeguarding this constitutional right, authorities responded with disproportionate force that endangered the lives and safety of young people.
The violent response to these demonstrations reflects a broader pattern in which public dissent is met not with dialogue, but with intimidation and violence. The right to education and the right to peaceful protest are fundamental pillars of any democratic society, and attempts to silence students through force undermine both democratic participation and public trust in state institutions.
BBC reviews their interviews with the recently (under scandalous contions) pardoned, former Honduran President JOH Juan Orlando Hernandez.
Honduran authorities arrested former mayor Adán Fúnez and two others for allegedly masterminding the 2024 assassination of environmental activist Juan López, a prominent opponent of a controversial mining project. The case highlights ongoing violence against environmental defenders in Honduras, where activism remains highly dangerous amid corruption, impunity, and conflicts over natural resources.
Honduras’s November 30 general elections took place in a highly polarized environment marked by institutional weaknesses, technical failures, foreign interference, and low public trust. Although reforms since 2021 improved the electoral framework, partisan divisions caused gridlock and delays in key decisions.
Technical problems—especially with the results transmission system—produced irregular data and inconsistencies, fueling fraud claims and a contentious, incomplete recount process. At the same time, public interventions by US political figures, including Donald Trump, added external pressure that may have influenced voters.
A CEPR observation mission found no evidence of fraud in the presidential vote but could not fully assess the impact of data irregularities due to limited access. Nasry Asfura was declared the winner by a narrow margin before all disputed ballots were reviewed, returning the National Party to power after a controversial post-2009 period marked by corruption and human rights abuses.
Civil society has raised concerns about a possible resurgence of authoritarian practices, especially amid recent contested removals of electoral officials by Congress.
A leaked audio recording points to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Javier Milei, and Donald Trump as attempting to create a platform to spread fake news about the administrations of Claudia Sheinbaum, Lula, and Gustavo Petro
To expand its gold mining operations in Copán Department, MINOSA (a Honduran subsidiary of US-based Aura Minerals) began deforestation of the Cerro Los Hornillos mountain, a site of sacred and historical significance to the local Maya Chortí Indigenous community, in July 2025. Community members questioned the authority under which the company was operating and denounced MINOSA for failing to consult affected peoples prior to initiating work in the area. They expressed concern that the destruction of Cerro Los Hornillos could affect the geological integrity of the mountain area and vital waterways. So to protect the well-being of the environmental and the health of the community, in September 2025 residents installed a peaceful encampment at the foot of the mountain to block any expansion of gold mining into the Cerro Los Hornillos.
The corporation has the office of the public prosecutor and other state law enforcement on its side. On February 12, to help MINOSA expand its mining operations (even though it did not have express permission from neither the Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment nor the Honduras Institute for Geology and Mining), the Honduran military arrived at Cerro Los Hornillos to assist MINOSA in its deforestation by holding back the encampment of environmental defenders. On February 24, six encampment defenders had to appear at a court arraignment on charges of usurpation (illegal trespass/occupation). On May 5, they would appear in court again as a judge determines whether the public prosecutor has enough evidence to move the case forward.
Despite the severe social and environmental risks that this project poses, MINOSA is moving towards exploitation without any sign of institutional oversight.
Audio recordings published by Spain’s Canal RED suggest that US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are allegedly working to facilitate the return of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to power. The media outlet published alleged audio recordings in which Hernandez, current President Nasry Asfura and a group of Honduran officials are heard discussing in detail a supposed operation driven by the US and financed by Israel to weave a network of corruption in Honduras, with the aim of turning the Central American country into a US investment hub.
Recent elections in Honduras have returned right-wing leadership to power, with immediate implications for the autonomy of Indigenous communities.
You’ve heard of the “banana republic”? It started with the railroads. In the late 1800s, the Meiggs family (Boston entrepreneurs) began constructing a rail line in Costa Rica. They recruited workers from the US. But they were unprepared for the reality of manual labor in a tropical environment—yellow fever, venomous wildlife, brutal manual work clearing dense jungle with machetes in the heat of monsoon season. When they died in great numbers, the family went to New Orleans and brought 700 inmates to Costa Rica. They promised pardons in exchange for labor. But only 25 survived!
So, bananas? As the railroad was built, along its tracks, something else had been growing. To feed his workforce, the project leader had planted banana trees along the railroad lines. Bananas grew fast, grew abundantly, and had only just been introduced to the American consumer at the Worlds’ Fair in 1876.
When Costa Rica defaulted on loan payments in 1882, the Boston entrprenuer made a deal. He would finish the final forty miles of track with this string attached: 800,000 acres of tax-free land along the railroad and a 99-year lease on the rail route itself. A single man now controlled the land, the transport, and the market.
By the time the railroad was completed in 1890, 5,000 men had died building it. The European market now had access to coffee from Costa Rica. And the banana empire began.
(You can learn about alternative trade organizations that partner with worker-owned banana farms at EqualExchange.coop )
