The Church in Honduras has lamented the security crisis the Central American nation has faced this year, with at least 60 people killed since January. Source: Crux.
On May 21, 20 rural workers were killed before they began their daily activities at an oil palm plantation. The crime occurred in the Rigores community in the municipality of Trujillo.
Only a few hours later, five police officers were kidnapped and killed in the city of Omoa, in northern Honduras near the Guatemalan border, while attempting to capture drug traffickers. Their bodies were dismembered and burned.
On May 25, four people were killed and another was wounded in La Lima, in northern Honduras.
According to Jesuit Fr Gregorio Vasquez, who coordinates the National Apostolic Council in Honduras, such massacres “cannot be analysed without taking into consideration the wave of violence caused both by common and organised crime”.
“Honduras has been facing a rather complex situation. Those deaths touch on very sensitive issues for Hondurans – drug trafficking, gangs, and historic land disputes,” Fr Vasquez said.
He said that drug cartels have controlled Honduras for a long time, and that corrupt state officials are often involved in criminal operations.
The government declared that the recent wave of violence stems from confrontations between major criminal organisations over territorial control.
“Measures to enhance security in Honduras had been announced shortly before the recent massacres, so we can conclude that those actions were, in part, a warning to the authorities,” Fr Vasquez added.
The bloodbath in Trujillo – in which three children, three women, and three elderly people were among the victims – has particularly shocked the Church.
On May 22, the campaign La vida pende de un hilo (Life Hangs by a Thread), promoted by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council, released a statement condemning the massacre and demanding justice from the authorities.
The campaign also emphasised “the urgent need for the Honduran State to guarantee protection and security for peasant families in the communities of Bajo Aguán and to contribute solutions that respect human and environmental rights in those communities.”
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Church condemns series of massacres in Honduras (By Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux)
