48 massacres recorded during state of emergency in Honduras

The National Commissioner for Human Rights (CONADEH) reported this Sunday that 48 multiple murders or killings, each with more than three victims, were recorded in Honduras in the context of the state of emergency in effect from December 2022, leaving 220 people dead.

Conade stressed in a statement, “Honduras was the site of nearly fifty massacres, in which at least 220 people were killed and dozens were injured, many of whom are still unpunished, which continues to perpetuate rights violations and Increases.”

He said, in December 2022 alone, when the Honduran government declared a state of emergency to reduce the violence rate, 5 massacres were recorded in the Central American country, resulting in 20 deaths.

Between January 1 and December 31 last year, the human rights organization recorded at least 43 killings, killing at least 200 people, including 75 women and about a dozen girls and boys.

In 2023, 13 out of 18 departments hondurasIn what has been one of the most violent countries in the world, without experiencing war, several killings took place there, which left “a trail of grief and pain in about fifty Honduran families”, according to the human rights organization.

He highlighted that last June was the month with the most massacres, with 11 cases, including the death of 46 women in prison during a brawl. The head of CONDEH, Blanca Izaguirre, said the state “takes responsibility” for the shortage. An effective investigation that allows us to identify the culprits of the deaths of 46 women in the Center for Women’s Social Adaptation (CIFAS).

The deaths of 46 women in Cephas, 23 of them killed with firearms and knives, and the remaining 23 burned in a fire, have been attributed by authorities to a confrontation between two criminal gangs.

Those responsible for the “worst massacre” ever recorded in Honduras “were not identified, prosecuted, or punished”, which is why Izaguirre urged authorities to conduct such an investigation. that comply with the general principles of “enhanced due diligence”. This is a serious violation of human rights.”

“This environment of terror and impunity is fertilizer for many Honduran families, who are forcibly displaced from their places of residence for the sake of their physical integrity and the safety of their lives,” the Ombudsman stressed.

He called on Honduran authorities to “implement preventive measures and conduct effective investigations that will identify the culprits and bring to justice those responsible for such despicable violent acts.” efe