Many police officers were visible in the main cities of Honduras on Friday, November 25, the day after the establishment of a state of emergency by President Xiomara Castro in order to deal with an increase in the activities of criminal groups in the country.
Xiomara Castro has declared a state of emergency in this country plagued by violence from gangs and drug trafficking, in order to reinforce the government's strategy "
of immediate recovery of lawless territories
", she said. announcement.
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20,000 agents mobilized
Special forces and police were numerous on Friday in the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa, noted an AFP photographer.
Police Director Gustavo Sanchez said at least 20,000 officers would be mobilized as part of the measure.
Some 120 neighborhoods or districts in the capital and the country's second city, San Pedro Sula, have already been identified for the establishment
of "states of exception
", he added.
The declaration of the state of emergency comes days after hundreds of bus drivers demonstrated in the capital to demand measures to prevent extortion by criminal gangs.
Xiomara Castro, the first woman elected president of the country in January, said Thursday to declare "
war on extortion, just as we have declared war on corruption, impunity and drug trafficking
".
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Honduras is at the heart of the "
triangle of death
" in Central America, a region plagued by violence, poverty and corruption.
The criminal gangs, called "
maras
", in particular reign terror in the small country, as well as in El Salvador and Guatemala.
With a population of 10 million, Honduras recorded a murder rate of 18.47 in the first half of the year and expects a rate of 37 murders/100,000 inhabitants for the whole of 2022 (down, however, compared to 2021 with a rate of 42 murders/100,000 inhabitants).
