Bill Summary: 

This bill prohibits funds from being made available to Honduras for the police or military (including for equipment and training), and directs the Department of the Treasury to instruct U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to vote against any loans for the police or military of Honduras, until the Department of States certifies that the government of Honduras has:

• prosecuted members of the military and police for human rights violations and ensured that such violations have ceased;
• established the rule of law and guaranteed a judicial system capable of bringing to justice members of the police and military who have committed human rights abuses;
• established that it protects the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, government critics, and civil society activists to operate without interference;
• withdrawn the military from domestic policing; and
• brought to trial and obtained verdicts against those who ordered and carried out the attack on Felix Molina and the killings of Berta Caceres, Joel Palacios Lino, Elvis Armando Garcia, and over 100 small-farmer activists in the Aguan Valley.

Current co-sponsors:

60 total in U.S.; from IL – Schakowsky, Lipinski, Gutierrez, Rush, Davis, Quigley, Foster

Reasons to Co-sponsor:

1. The U.S. should not fund security forces that have committed such an alarming number of human rights abuses with a 97% impunity rate.
   
   Some argue that U.S. training for Honduran troops will professionalize them, but there is no evidence of improvement since the 2009 military coup d’etat. Those who planned that coup
   are still in power. In fact, there is credible evidence that units of the Honduran military trained by the U.S. are operating as “death squads” and have hit lists of the leaders of various social movements. Berta Cáceres was one casualty.
   
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/28/berta-caceres-honduras-military-intelligence-us-trained-special-forces
2. The U.S should not entrust funds to an administration as corrupt as that of Juan Orlando Hernández’ in a country with such a weak judicial system.
   
   We cannot have any confidence that funds given to Honduras will be used for their intended purpose. There is rampant institutional corruption in Honduras. High-level officials siphon off money from public institutions for their own gain or for political advantage. The looting of at least $350 million from the social security system by its chief administrator, part of which funded National Party efforts to elect current President Hernández in 2013, is an example.
   

   The Unbearable Solitude of Honduras’ Attorney General

   
   

Officials also have been implicated in taking bribes from drug trafficking gangs in exchange for allowing gangs to operate without police interference.

Another Day, Another Damning Testimony of Elites by Honduras Trafficker

3.  U.S. funds should not be sent to support military and police forces in a country which                 appears headed for dictatorship.

Current President Hernández is running for re-election, forbidden by the Honduran Constitution. Last year, he fired 4 Supreme Court justices who challenged the constitutionality of his running for re-election and appointed replacements who would support it. He uses the military in domestic policing, also forbidden by the Constitution, and has formed a Military Police Force in addition to the National Police. This year, the Honduran Congress passed changes to the penal code that threaten free speech and freedom of assembly rights, with stiff criminal penalties, which have citizens worried that they will not be able effectively to publicly oppose government policies.

Timeline of Events Surrounding Coup

Both the U.S. and Honduran mainstream media has published misinformation about the events surrounding the coup of June 28,2009.  For example, the allegation that President Zelaya wanted to change the constitution in order to extend his time in office was invented by the coup leaders and repeated early and often.  However, President Zelaya never stated this.  The following timeline includes critical events leading up to and following the coup, including social legislation passed by President Zelaya in the months before the coup:

November 11, 2008:


President Zelaya announces his intent to conduct an opinion poll to see if the people want to have a fourth ballot box installed at polling places during the next election (11/29/09).  This fourth ballot box would be in addition to the ballot boxes for President, Congress, and local officials for the purpose of holding a non-binding referendum asking people if they want the government to hold a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution.

February 2009:


President Zelaya increases the minimum wage by 60%. Chiquita (formerly United Fruit Company) and Dole join the Honduran Business Council in complaining that this will cut into their profits and lead to mass unemployment.  However, this increase results in salaries that are still less than a third of a living wage for Hondurans.

March 24, 2009:


President Zelaya issues a decree to the National Statistical Institute to hold the opinion poll on June 28, 2009.  Article 5 of the Honduran “Civil Participation Act” of 2006, approved by Congress and the Supreme Court at the time, allows public officials to perform non-binding public consultations to inquire what the population thinks about policy measures.  While the constitution can only be changed by a 2/3 majority of the Congress, Zelaya was merely attempting to gauge public opinion as an advisory measure for Congress.

March 25, 2009:


The Attorney General’s office notifies Zelaya that if he proceeds with the opinion poll, he will be charged with abuse of power.

May 2009:


The Supreme Court, the Congress, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal all rule that the opinion poll is illegal, in spite of the fact that in 2006, the Congress had passed and the Supreme Court had approved the above-mentioned Civil Participation Act allowing for non-binding public consultations.

June 25, 2009:


Gen. Romeo Vasquez, trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas, tells President Zelaya that the armed forces will not distribute ballots for the non-binding referendum as ordered by the president.  President Zelaya fires him.

June 26, 2009:


Supreme Court rules that Gen. Vasquez be reinstated.  President Zelaya refuses to do so, saying “If an army rebels against a president, then we are back to the era of the cavemen, back to the darkest chapters in Honduran history.”  He and his supporters go to the Air Force base to collect and distribute the ballot boxes themselves.

June 28, 2009:


Early in the morning, armed forces led by Gen. Vasquez storm Zelaya’s home, disarm the Presidential guard, and fly him to Costa Rica.  The plane stops at Palmerola, a joint U.S. and Honduran military airfield.

The military patrols the streets in tanks and fly overhead in planes.  Electricity, phone lines, and international cable TV lines are cut; water is cut off to some neighborhoods; TV and radio stations supportive of Zelaya are taken off the air; and the stations still on the air report no news.

Nine ministers in Zelaya’s administration are detained.  A dozen Zelaya ministers go into hiding, fearing arrest.

An extraordinary session of Congress is called, but not all legislators are notified or present.  There is later dispute over whether Congress had a quorum.  A fake letter of resignation from President Zelaya is read and a vote is taken to remove Zelaya from office and install Roberto Micheletti, President of the Congress, as President.  Micheletti immediately orders a 24 hour curfew for all citizens which lasts for three days.  People cannot leave their houses even to buy food or water, without fear of army retaliation.  After the third day, the curfew is suspended and reinstated arbitrarily, at the whim of the coup government, for the next several months.

The Front of Resistance to the Coup is born, a coalition of labor, farmworker, student, indigenous, Garifuna (a mixed Afro-Caribe people), and feminist groups.  People who had not been part of protests in the past join the Front’s non-violent resistance in daily public demonstrations and marches in spite of the curfew.

All Latin American countries, the European Union and much of the rest of the world unequivocally condemn the coup and call for the reinstatement of President Zelaya.  Many over the next several days recall their ambassadors and cease economic relations with Honduras.  Secretary of State Clinton, refusing to use the word “coup,” condemns the “action” taken against President Zelaya and calls on “all parties in Honduras to respect the constitution and the rule of law.”  President Obama calls Zelaya’s ouster “illegal.”  However, the U.S. does not recall its ambassador, withdraw its military personnel from Honduras, cut off aid, or cease trade relations with Honduras.

June 30:


UN General Assembly calls for restitution of Zelaya as president of Honduras.

July 1:


Introduced by Micheletti, Congress issues an order suspending freedom of assembly, freedom of transit, due process, and permitting search and seizure without a warrant.

July 2:


European Union countries recall their ambassadors to Honduras.

July 4:


Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Honduras’ membership.

July 5:


President Zelaya flies to Honduras.  Crowds gather at the airport to meet him, but coup government prevents the plane from landing.  1 killed, dozens wounded.

August 4:


The State Department sends a letter to the Senate to “clarify” the U.S. position on the events in Honduras.  “We energetically condemn the actions of June 28. We also recognize that President Zelaya’s insistence on undertaking provocative actions contributed to the polarization of Honduran society and led to a confrontation that unleashed the events that led to his removal.”  The State Department is still unwilling to call the events of June 28 a coup.

September 3:


U.S. State Department stops $30 million in non-humanitarian aid from going to Honduras but is still unwilling to call the events of June 28 a military coup.

September 21:


President Zelaya returns to Honduras secretly and takes up residence in the Brazilian Embassy.  The coup government again declares a curfew, which lasts until Sept. 23 at 10 a.m., only to resume at 4 p.m. that same day.  People are trapped in their houses, many without food or water.  Nevertheless, many defy the curfew and gather outside the Brazilian Embassy in support of Zelaya that night.

September 22, 2009:


Early in the morning, police violently break up the gathering of Zelaya supporters.  Mr. Micheletti issues a secret decree suspending the constitution and civil liberties for 45 days, finally published in the government register September 26.  Campaign of harassment begun against those in the Brazilian Embassy.

September 30, 2009:


Police invade the National Agrarian Institute, arresting 50 farmworkers who had been occupying the building since the coup.  The farmworkers were trying to prevent the coup government from destroying or changing land titles that were finally being registered for farmworkers under Zelaya’s land reform measures.

October 29, 2009:


Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon negotiates an accord between Zelaya and Micheletti, in which Micheletti agrees to let the Congress vote on Zelaya’s restoration to the presidency in return for Zelaya’s agreement that he will not seek a constitutional assembly or change the constitution, that he will support November 29 elections and encourage his supporters not to protest them in any way, that the army will be responsible for elections logistics and “keeping order” during the campaign season and on election day, and that he will participate in a “unity and reconciliation government” with those who carried out the coup.  Sec. Shannon makes clear that the expectation on all sides is that Congress will vote on Zelaya’s reinstatement very soon, by November 6 at the latest.

October 30, 2009:


Congress announces it will go on indefinite recess.

November 3:


Sec. Shannon announces that the U.S. will recognize the legitimacy of the November 29 elections whether or not Zelaya is restored to the presidency.

November 9:


President Zelaya announces he will no longer support the accord, since the Congress shows no sign of voting on his reinstatement.

CRLN board member, Sidney Hollander, and program director, Gary Cozette, are currently in Honduras on human rights delegation with our partners,


La Voz de los de Abajo

a Chicago-based group. Yesterday, on the anniversary of the coup, the group attended the Resistance March in Tegucigalpa, in solidarity with the Resistance movement and in protest of the on-going human rights abuses committed under coup-successor, President “Pepe” Lobo. Below is a letter from Gary and pictures from the march.
Dear CRLN Members and Friends,

Yesterday, our Chicago delegation accompanied the lively, diverse Resistance March in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. Sidney Hollander, the CRLN Board member on this delegation, calculates turn-out by about how many people can fill a baseball stadium, which he estimates at 40,000. His guess? A shade under 40,000. Others estimated as high as 100,000.   We heard unconfirmed reports that some buses coming to the march were not allowed to enter Tegucigalpa. The reason the numbers were lower in Tegucigalpa than in previous major marches is in large part because the Frente has decided to decentralize them. Subsequently, major marches took place in all parts of the country yesterday. In Tegucigalpa, I was amazed by the great number of young people, ages 14-25, participating with great creativity. We hope to have pictures on our web site soon. In the mean time, you can see pictures from one of the web sites noted below in today’s


Hemispheric Brief


coverage of the coup anniversary.

On a negative note,


Berta Caceres,


a key leader of COPINH, the national indigenous organization of Honduras, was taken captive by military police in the town of La Esperanza. After the local population mobilized at the police station and an urgent action alert went out, Berta was released several hours after her capture. However, the police confiscated from Berta 400 signed affidavits seeking a national Constitutional assembly. The Resistance Front is organizing across Honduras to secure over 1 million signed affidavits to convene a national constituent assembly to draft a new Constitution to replace the current one drafted in 1982 amid the Cold War violence of the 1980s.  Diverse sectors of Honduran civil society in the resistance movement tell us that the current Constitution is privileging the interests of the oligarchy, the elite and transnational corporations seeking to “loot” their national resources.

Gary L. Cozette, Program Director

Hemispheric Brief – June 29, 2010 / Excerpts covering Honduras

In Honduras, more on the one year anniversary of the coup.

IPS has a good report

from Thelma Mejía who says “defacto” military veto power in the country continues to block any possible political or electoral reforms in the country.  The story comes after the head of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) said the possibility of ending the military’s role as the transporter of ballot boxes during elections was being considered.  Just days later, however, the TSE changed its tune entirely after a meeting with senior military officials.  According to IPS, the TSE now it “will seek to ‘expand’ the functions of the military [in the electoral process], including the possibility of allowing members of the armed forces to vote. According to Leticia Salomón, an expert in military affairs, one of the most significant consequences of last year’s coup has been the growing role of the military in the public sphere.  The country now has “highly politicized security forces, and in the case of the military, the leadership has become a decision-making body, says Salomón.

The pro-coup


El Heraldo


reports on FNRP protests yesterday, saying only about 2000 individuals showed up for marches in the capital commemorating last year’s coup.  I haven’t seen figures from the FNRP itself yet but

Vos el Soberano

does have photos. Pro-coup

La Tribuna

, meanwhile, reports on FNRP marches in San Pedro Sula where some 3000 resistance members took a bridge for nearly three hours.  Meanwhile, the FNRP announced it had collected

some 600,000 signatures

in favor of holding a constituent assembly.  For his part, Mel Zelaya watched events from the Dominican Republic.  In a letter released on the coup’s anniversary, Mr. Zelaya’s harshest words were saved for the United States, which, he now claims, was “behind the coup.”  As the

AP

reports, Zelaya cited what he called the “public support the United States wound up giving to the coup.”  And RAJ at

Honduras Culture and Politics

has a list of recommendations about what the Lobo government could do to start a process of real national dialogue.  I recommend reading in-full.

El viernes, 16 de diciembre, CRLN, La Voz de Los de Abajo, y varixs compañerxs de Chicago llevaron 200 cartas de Navidad firmadas por residentes de Illinois hasta la oficina local del Senador Durbin para urgir que ponga un alto de inmediato a toda la asistencia militar de los EE.UU. a Honduras hasta que cumplan con estándares internacionales de derechos humanos.

Miembros y amigxs de CRLN hicieron posible este esfuerzo por sus firmas en las cartas al Senador, quien tiene una posición de alto rango en el Subcomité de Defensa del Comité de Asignaciones. Con esta posición él tiene el poder de suspender la asistencia de seguridad a Honduras dado las violaciones graves y consistentes en contra los derechos humanos en Honduras. Nuestro equipo llevó las cartas a la oficina del Senador y se reunieron con el personal de su oficina, quienes expresaron preocupación por la situación en Honduras y nos prometieron pasar nuestras peticiones al Senador. En este momento, no pudieron darnos una respuesta fija sobre el asunto de la suspensión de la asistencia de seguridad.

Seguiremos presionando el Senador Durbin en el año 2017 y esperamos trabajo duro para ganar el apoyo también de la Senadora-elegida Duckworth.

Estas 200 firmantes también aparecieron en cartas a los miembros de Illinois de la Cámera Baja pidiendo que apoyen H.R.5474 El Proyecto de Ley “Berta Cáceres” de Derechos Humanos en Honduras, una ley que también suspendería la asistencia militar y policiaca a Honduras.

En este momento, siete de los diez Demócratas de Illinois decidieron co-patrocinar H.R.5474, un gran triunfo que no habría sido posible sin la presión de base que por ustedes.

Berta Cáceres

, co-fundadora del Consejo Cívico y Popular de Organizaciones Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH), fue asesinada el 2 de mazo de 2016 y en los nueve meses que han pasado desde su asesinato, las carpetas del caso fueron robados y su familia ha sido excluida completamente del proceso judicial. En julio,

Nelson Garcia

, miembro de COPINH, fue asesinado y

Tomás Gómez Membreño

, Coordinador General actual de COPINH quien visitó a la oficina de Senador Durbin pidiendo que suspenda la asistencia de seguridad en junio del 2016, sobrevivió un intento en contra su vida.

En octubre,

Jose Angel Flores

, Presidente de la organización campesina MUCA (Movimiento Unido Campesino del Aguán) y

Silmer Dionosio George

, otro miembro de MUCA, fueron asesinados por hombres armados mientras salían de una reunión de miembros de MUCA. Más activistas y defensores de derechos humanos fueron

detenidos y amenazados

por fuerzas de seguridad Hondureñas mientras manifestaban pacíficamente en contra de la privatización de las autopistas. El reporte más reciénte sobre derechos humanos en Honduras de la Asociación de Participación de los Ciudadanos aclaró

que en 2016 hubieron 32 asesinatos

de defensores de derechos humanos, activistas ambientales, y defensores de derechos campesinos e Indígenas.

A pesar de estos ataques, acusaciones creíbles de la complicidad del estado Hondureño, y un nivel de impunidad de 95%, los EE.UU. ha mandado $200 millones en la forma de asistencia militar y policiaca desde el golpe de estado en el 2009. Además, el mes pasado, el Departamento del Estado certificó—con poca o sin evidencia—que el gobierno Hondureño cumplió con condiciones de derechos humanos puestas por el Congreso Estadounidense, así soltando $55,000,000 en asistencia de seguridad.

Como respuesta, aproximadamente 200 residentes de Illinois fueron representados en la entrega de las cartas de navidad a la oficina del Senador urgiendo que use su, “poder para suspender la asistencia de seguridad hasta que la policía y ejército Hondureño cumplan con los estándares internacionales de derechos humanos. Nuestros impuestos ya no deben apoyar las fuerzas de seguridad Hondureñas con los recursos materiales y legitimidad internacional para poder cometer violaciones de derechos humanos con impunidad.”

Mientras la Sesión 114va del Congreso ya se terminó para el 2016, seguiremos apoyando nuestrxs compañerxs en Honduras y presionando al Senador Durbin y todxs los oficiales elegidxs para suspender la asistencia de seguridad Estadounidense a Honduras. Seguiremos exigiendo que respondan a los asesinatos y violencia en contra de lxs defensores de derechos humanos en Honduras.

More Death Caused by Honduran Military and Paramilitaries

CRLN’s partners, La Voz de Los de Abajo, report on their blog about the latest military and paramilitary violence in Honduras.  Media, newspapers, radio stations, and journalists have been targeted for repression, abduction and execution; this latest episode included a police attack on Radio Uno in the town of San Pedro Sula.  At least one death was reported.  For more information, check La Voz de Los de Abajo’s blog Honduras Resists at

http://hondurasresists.blogspot.com/

Honduras es el país más peligroso del mundo para ser un activista ambiental y uno de los más peligrosos para ser periodista, miembro de un sindicato o miembro de un movimiento social opuesto a las políticas actuales de la administración hondureña. Los miembros del ejército y la policía han sido implicados en actos de violencia contra los miembros de estos grupos, incluyendo asesinatos. El 97% de los crímenes cometidos en Honduras quedan sin resolver, y sin consecuencias para los perpetradores.

En este contexto, les damos las gracias por sus firmas apoyando el Proyecto de Ley de Derechos Humanos en Honduras Berta Cáceres (H.R. 5474). Las firmas ayudaron a CRLN a convencer a 7 de 10 representantes demócratas de Illinois en los Estados Unidos a copatrocinar esta importante legislación presentada por el representante Hank Johnson. A finales del 2016, el proyecto de ley, que suspendería la ayuda de seguridad de los Estados Unidos a Honduras en espera del cumplimiento de las normas internacionales de derechos humanos, reunió un total de 52 copatrocinadores en todo el país.

Debido que la sesión del Congreso número 114 terminó el 3 de enero y cualquier legislación que no llegó a la Cámara y el Senado para su votación terminó con ella, el Proyecto de Ley H.R. 5474 tendrá que ser reintroducido en la sesión del Congreso número 115 que va desde ahora hasta finales de 2018. El representante Hank Johnson planea reintroducir este proyecto de ley.

Tan pronto como esto ocurra, CRLN se pondrá en contacto con los y las representantes de Illinois para pedirle a los firmantes (Schakowsky, Gutiérrez, Davis, Rush, Quigley, Lipinski) que firmen de nuevo. Nos pondremos en contacto con aquellxs de ustedes en sus distritos para que contacten a sus representantes, se identifiquen como miembros de CRLN, les agradezcan por su copatrocinio el año pasado y pedirles apoyo para que vuelvan a firmar.

Para aquellos de ustedes en los distritos cuyos representantes no fueron co-patrocinadores, vamos a construir nuevos argumentos por los cuales deben ser co-patrocinadores y nos pondremos en contacto con ustedes en el momento apropiado para recolectar firmas de nuevo para mostrar el apoyo que hay en sus distritos para este proyecto de ley. Además, tenemos una nueva oportunidad de hablar con los representantes elegidos en noviembre (Brad Schneider en el Distrito 10, que reemplaza a Bob Dold, y Raja Krishnamoorthi, que reemplaza a Tammy Duckworth, ahora una de los Senadores de Illinois en el Distrito 8).

Es de vital importancia para las personas cuyas vidas están bajo amenaza en Honduras que Estados Unidos deje de suministrar armas y entrenar a las fuerzas de seguridad bajo la autoridad del actual presidente hondureño, Juan Orlando Hernández, cuyo partido utilizó y privó ilegalmente al público de los fondos designados para la el sistema de salud para financiar su última elección y que acaba de orquestar un cambio a la constitución para reelegirse como presidente en el 2017. Bajo su administración, fuerzas militares y policiales han sido desatadas para actuar violentamente en contra de quienes se oponen a la corrupción y las maniobras antidemocráticas de muchos de los que actualmente están en el poder.

ARCHIVE:

• 
  2-16-2012: Crisis in Aguan Region of Honduras
  
• 
  11-29-2011: Politically Related Killings in Honduras Under President “Pepe” Lobo
  
• 
  11-03-2011: CRLN’s 2011 Annual Luncheon:  We Shall Not Be Moved
  
• 
  10-27-2011: Garifuna leader Miriam Miranda Speaking Events in Chicago
  
• 
  10-22-2011: Honduras Delegation Report-back on October 22, 2011
  
• 
  03-31-2011: 2011 CRLN Luncheon Speaker, Garifuna Leader Miriam Miranda Detained in Honduras
  
• 
  03-09-2011: Gary Cozette on Honduras
  
• 
  11-20-2010: Five Honduran Campesinos Killed in Forced Eviction
  
• 
  10-06-2010: Seeking Truth:  Violence, Murders and Abductions in Honduras
  
• 
  10-06-2010: Assassinations and Death Threats in Honduras
  
• 
  09-16-2010: Honduran Police and Military Attack Radio Station and Peaceful March in San Pedro Sula
  
• 
  06-29-2010: Update from Honduras
  
• 
  06-28-2010: Honduras One Year Later: What the World is Saying
  
• 
  03-31-2010: Honduran Truth Commssion and the Continuing State Sponsored Violence
  

Given Honduras’ human rights situation, CRLN will provide for its members a monthly update on human right issues afflicting the country.

(Español aquí)

• The Honduran authorities arrested
  
  another suspect of the assassination of Berta Caceres, Henry Javier Hernandez Rodriguez
  
  , a former member of the Honduran military, in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Berta’s family demands the arrests of those that planned the murder. However, the Honduran authorities don’t seem to be making any effort to prosecute the real intellectual authors of Berta’s assassination.
• Gustavo Castro, who survived an assassination attempt when Berta Caceres was murdered,
  
  filed a formal accusation against the Honduran State for human rights violations.
  
• 
  Global Witness released a report that denounces
  
  , after a two-year investigation, that 120 environmental activists have died since 2010 in Honduras and that at the heart of the conflict are the rich and powerful elites, among them members of the political class. The Guardian analyzed the Global Witness report, focusing on the involvement of politicians and the business elite in the murder of the environmental defenders. Global Witness also denounces that the U.S. continues to provide security aid to Honduras despite the continuous human right violations by the state. Just this week, the U.S. gave
  
  the first Alliance for Prosperity funds
  
  ($125 million) to the Honduran government.
• President Juan Orlando Hernandez is seeking a reform to the Penal Code and introduction of new legislation which would provide more power to the security forces of the country. Also, with this legislation, police, military and security forces who kill or injure civilians in “defense” would be exempt from justice.
  
  CARITAS Honduras
  
  said this legislation would bring the country back to the 80’s when the opposition and media were persecuted and practices of forced disappearances occurred regularly.
  
  Amnesty International, among other international and national organizations, is critical of this reform of the Penal Code.
  
• Miriam Miranda and other members of the Afro-Honduran Garifuna cultural group OFRANEH were harassed and threatened by the Honduran Police in early January. The police wanted to illegally detain Miranda and three other human right defenders, during a checkpoint in La Ceiba. Miriam has protective measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH).
• Journalist Igor Padilla, was assassinated in the Northern part of Honduras. Honduras is one of the most dangerous and deadliest countries in the world to be a journalist. Padilla became the 63rd media worker to be killed since 2003. 50 of the 63 murders took place since 2009 and 24 alone in 2014 and 2015.
• OFRANEH is fighting against Indura Hilton, which wants to build resorts on their ancestral lands in Northern Honduras, and denounces the role of the Attorney’s General Office in granting access to that land to Indura Hilton
• Honduras celebrated National Women’s day this past January 25
  
  ^th
  
  , and
  
  local women right’s defenders and organizations protested the continuous violence and discrimination against women in the country.
  
• President Hernandez is actively seeking an illegal re-election, prohibited by the Honduran Constitution, and is harassing the opposition. In the previous election, the National Party stole funds from the Social Security system, leaving sick and economically poor people without medicine and treatments, in order to finance his political campaign.

Chile, 1985:

Women soaked by water cannon during a demonstration against Pinochet on International Women’s Day in Santiago. Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

This week, CRLN joins millions of people around the world commemorating the 40^th anniversary of Chile’s U.S.-backed military coup, which led to 17 years of dictatorship and tens of thousands of opposition activists murdered, disappeared, tortured, exiled, and imprisoned. Time has healed some, but also brought profound determination for truth and justice.

“As more time goes by, the truth of what happened and the full dimension of the violence becomes even clearer, and the country’s institutions are forced to assume their responsibility.”

Argentine-Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman writes in the New York Times about how he survived the bombing of the presidential palace just by trading a shift with a colleague and friend. He also writes about the durable impacts of the coup that have spread throughout the globe:

“The most lasting legacy of Chile’s Sept. 11 were the economic policies implemented by Pinochet. My country became, in effect, a laboratory for a neoliberal experiment, a land of  unrestrained greed where extreme denationalization of public resources and suppression of workers’ rights were imposed on an unwilling populace. Many of these merciless policies were later deployed by leaders across the globe”.

Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman interviews Joan Jara, the widow of Chilean singer Víctor Jara,

“who has just filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. court against the former military officer who allegedly killed Jara 40 years ago. Jara’s accused killer, Pedro Barrientos, has lived in the United States for roughly two decades and is now a U.S. citizen.”

Jara’s family is suing him under federal laws that allow U.S. courts to hear about human rights abuses committed abroad.”

TAKE ACTION! and join SOAWatch in calling for accountability for Victor Jara’s murder by Pedro Barrientos : “Jara was first held and tortured in the  infamous Estadio Chile (since renamed Estadio Victor Jara), which was turned into a nightmarish detention and torture center after the coup. Survivors and other witnesses claim that military officers broke Jara’s hands with the butts of their rifles before mockingly asking him to play his famous songs. Defiantly, Jara sang part of ‘Venceremos’ (We Will Win). His body was later dumped in the street, found riddled with 44 bullets and signs of extensive torture.”

Read a recounting by Hugh O’Shaughnessy, a prize-winning journalist who has written on Latin America for over 40 years, of the days immediately before and following the coup in Chile, where he was working as a journalist:

“As had already been the case after the military coups in Brazil in 1964 and then in Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina, and as was to be the case latterly in modern Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, the military and police torturers were ready with their electrodes, thumbscrews and waterboarding equipment to defend ‘western Christian civilisation’.”

Many had been brought to a peak of perfection in their
trade in the US itself or in its bases in the Panama canal zone by US instructors.”