Honduran Government Denounced for Using 'Dangerous and Illegal Tactics' to Silence Dissent

As Honduras’ right-wing government continues to crack down on dissenting voices amid widespread violence and national protests over allegations of election fraud in last month’s presidential election, Amnesty International is calling on officials to immediately stop “deploying dangerous and illegal tactics to silence any dissenting voices,” while the nation’s former president blames the United States, which backed the 2009 coup that ousted him from power, for creating “a military state.”

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“Evidence shows that there is no space for people in Honduras to express their opinions. When they do, they come face to face with the full force of the government’s repressive apparatus.”
—Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International

Efforts to silence opponents of incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández have continued, as protesters pour into the streets in spite of a government-imposed curfew, under which Amnesty says “security forces operated with the greatest impunity.”

Even as some members of the Honduran National Police force have started refusing to follow orders to quash protests because, as a spokesperson said, they “don’t want to repress and violate the rights of the Honduran people,” the violence has persisted.

“Honduras seems to be on a very dangerous free fall where ordinary people are the victims of reckless and selfish political games,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. “Evidence shows that there is no space for people in Honduras to express their opinions. When they do, they come face to face with the full force of the government’s repressive apparatus.”

Amnesty International sent a delegation to Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capitol, following the Nov. 26 election to meet with activists, victims of violence, and police officers. The group has “documented a plethora of human rights violations against protesters and other people” as well as at least 14 deaths since the protests broke out after the election.