Submitted by Witness for Peace
Take Action! Demand that Congress Investigate U.S. Complicity in the Rise of a Narco-State in Honduras Following the 2009 Coup D’Etat.
In 2009, the United States played a role in legitimizing the military-backed coup d’état in Honduras by recognizing the immediate post-coup government despite widespread protest by the Honduran people and the international community. For the 12 years that followed, the United States economically and diplomatically supported subsequent post-coup governments in Honduras despite allegations of widespread human rights abuses, electoral frauds, major corruption scandals, and allegations of state-sponsored narco-trafficking.
In 2022, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was arrested and extradited to the United States, accused of using the Honduran military and police to traffic drugs to the United States from 2004 until the end of his eight year presidency. However, the U.S. doesn’t acknowledge that it used hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds to prop up a narco-regime in Honduras. This egregious misuse of our tax dollars came at the great expense of the Honduran people, hundreds of thousands of which have been forced to flee the country, which today remains heavily impacted by organized crime.
What did the United States know about the establishment of the narco-dictatorship and when? How can we ensure that our tax dollars are never again used to finance organized crime and human rights abuses committed abroad?
Write your Congressional representatives today and request that they closely follow the trial of former Honduran President Hernández in the Southern District of New York scheduled for February 12, 2024.
Demand that Congress lead an investigation to uncover the facts of U.S. support for the regime in Honduras, determine why, despite warnings and serious concerns of human rights abuses, corruption, and the growth of a narco-state, that the U.S. government did not immediately cease funding and technical assistance to Honduras.
