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The US role in repression in Honduras The US role in repression in Honduras
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The Guardian’s investigation into Central American migration patterns and the fate of those deported from the US to be returned to their countries of origin (13 October) correctly reported that “hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans flee poverty and violence at home in search of a better life in the US”, but failed to point out Washington’s complicity in the circumstances giving rise to appalling murder rates such as those of the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula where there are 1,200 homicides a year.The Guardian’s investigation into Central American migration patterns and the fate of those deported from the US to be returned to their countries of origin (13 October) correctly reported that “hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans flee poverty and violence at home in search of a better life in the US”, but failed to point out Washington’s complicity in the circumstances giving rise to appalling murder rates such as those of the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula where there are 1,200 homicides a year.
Six years ago, the reformist government of President Zelaya held out some hope for the poor peasant farmers of Honduras until he was toppled in a coup carried out by military officers trained in Georgia at the notorious School of the Americas, with the tacit support of Barack Obama and his then secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, who were carrying on a long tradition of US intervention and interference in the region.Six years ago, the reformist government of President Zelaya held out some hope for the poor peasant farmers of Honduras until he was toppled in a coup carried out by military officers trained in Georgia at the notorious School of the Americas, with the tacit support of Barack Obama and his then secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, who were carrying on a long tradition of US intervention and interference in the region.
The aftermath of the coup and the fraudulent elections that followed it presaged a wave of repression where journalists, trade unionists and human rights defenders were attacked, tortured, murdered and disappeared. The World Bank, underwritten by the US, Canada and the UK, gave and continues to give cheap loans for large landowners to grow cash crops for export on lands stolen from small farmers who are simply left to starve. Power and wealth in Honduras reside in an elite who benefit from political, military and economic relations with the US and Canada, which see the republic as little more than a resource to be exploited by their transnational companies, with scant regard for its beleaguered inhabitants.Bert SchouwenburgInternational officer, GMBThe aftermath of the coup and the fraudulent elections that followed it presaged a wave of repression where journalists, trade unionists and human rights defenders were attacked, tortured, murdered and disappeared. The World Bank, underwritten by the US, Canada and the UK, gave and continues to give cheap loans for large landowners to grow cash crops for export on lands stolen from small farmers who are simply left to starve. Power and wealth in Honduras reside in an elite who benefit from political, military and economic relations with the US and Canada, which see the republic as little more than a resource to be exploited by their transnational companies, with scant regard for its beleaguered inhabitants.Bert SchouwenburgInternational officer, GMB
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