An agreement between the Honduran government, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, and the Center for Justice and International Law, established an Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts to assist in the investigations regarding the 2016 murder of Berta Cáceres. A prominent human rights and environmental defender, Cáceres was murdered due to her activism for social justice, her defense of the rights of the Lenca people and her opposition to the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Lenca territory. The high-profile case has resulted in the conviction of eight direct and intermediate perpetrators, and the Interdisciplinary Group will focus on providing technical assistance to the government to investigate the masterminds of the killing, and the political and economic interests that may have hampered access to justice. The Group’s mandate is for six months, during which preliminary and final reports will be published to aid in the investigations into Cáceres’s murder. 

Sources: Criterio, Proceso, El País, Infobae 

Former President Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted in a New York court for trafficking cocaine. Hernández was extradited to the US by Honduran authorities in April 2022 after the country's Supreme Court rejected the former president's appeals. Witnesses revealed Hernández, who served from 2014 to 2022, accepted bribes, including $1m from infamous drug dealer El Chapo, to fund his political campaigns. The prosecution described his actions as creating a “cocaine superhighway” to the US. While the conviction is a victory for the US’s Drug Enforcement Agency, it calls into question past US support for Hernández, who was once seen as an ally in anti-drug efforts. Hernández, who campaigned for his presidency as an anti-crime leader, is accused of leveraging state power to protect drug traffickers, including the military and police, and turning Honduras into a "narco-state". His arrest and trial have been closely watched in Honduras, reflecting a broader desire for accountability.  

Sources: The Guardian, BBC, La Tribuna, Infobae, Latin Post

A riot and fire started after clashes between rival gangs in a women’s prison resulted in at least 46 deaths. Less than a week later, 13 people were killed in a deadly shooting in the city of Choloma, believed to be linked to gang violence as well. According to a police commissioner, the killings in Choloma could be reprisals related to the prison deaths. President Xiomara Castro has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances of the prison riot, as many women deprived of their liberty allegedly had access to weapons, as well as an investigation into the shooting in the city of Choloma. According to a police, there are allegations that these two events are possibility connected. A local curfew in Choloma and San Pedro Sula was implemented during two weeks in response to the shooting, which President Castro characterised as a “terrorist attack” ordered by drug gangs. 

Sources: El Mundo, British Broadcasting Corporation, El Pais, Associated Press

International experts have raised alerts about the concerning levels of violence in Honduras. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights carried out a visit to the country in April, during which it highlighted that the murder of human rights and environmental activists position the country as one of the most violent in the region. Social leaders and activists have stressed that the implementation of a state of emergency to counter organized crime in the past months has negatively impacted their activities.

Further, the Norwegian Refugee Council carried out a visit to Honduras, during which it expressed concern for the levels of violence similar to those of an armed conflict, with many displaced and a disproportionate impact on women, who are subjected to sexual and other forms of gender-based violence. 

Sources: Radio France Internationale, Criterio, British Broadcasting Corporation