Honduras
Honduras topped the world’s highest murder rate ranking #1 in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. San Pedro Sula, Cortes, Honduras (the second largest city in Honduras) has been the most violent city in the world the past four years in a row. Honduras ranks 117 out of 162 on the Global Peace Index and their violence cost them $7,525,000,000.
This video, from CNN, highlights the fear Hondurans live on a daily basis (graphic content). Click here.
Corruption and loss of control are key to the hold these groups have on Honduran citizens. The gangs have taken control of the public schools and rely on children to do their dirty work, as they will face less jail time. Teachers are required to pay an “impuesto de Guerra” (“War Tax”) of 1,000 lempiras per month ($50 dollars); most teacher make between 3,000-5,000 per month, the “war tax” is a large part of their salary. In schools pamphlets from the United States are distributed by gang prevention police; however, pamphlets are also distributed by gangs offering girls for sexual services. And, although police patrol the school, gang members patrol the police to ensure their hold on the schools.
The citizens of Honduras have grown to distrust the police, who have been known to work with the gangs, between 2011 and 2012 during a time period where 149 civilians were killed by police. The Commissioner of the Preventative Police stated that the reports did not include many killings where the bodies had not been found. Since then the Honduran government has militarized their forces; towns around the most dangerous city of the world, San Pedro Sula, live in the war zone between Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha. The military patrols the areas, waiting for gangs to start shooting at them; hoping that the gangs will give away their hiding place, knowing that they won’t. Citizens had to evacuate the street between the two gang areas; the houses are abandoned and full of bullet holes.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015:
A bus was lit on fire because the company didn’t pay the war tax:
Children are recruited young in Honduras, as in Guatemala and El Salvador; below is a story of how some are trying to change that:
What fuels the extremely large membership to these gangs? Poverty. See the video below for a story about a little boy, who mother rarely has enough to feed the family… a story that is all to well-known in the country of Honduras.
Works Cited:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/world/un-world-murder-rates/
http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20141208/AIK0106/141209504
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/lifestyle/honduras-gangs/11350476/gangs-chamelecon-honduras.html
Central American Gangs, Barrio 18, Mara Salvatrucha, El Salvador, Guatemala