Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
A recent International Narcotics Control Strategy (INCSR) report from the U.S. Department of State referred to the actions taken by Honduras against drug trafficking.
“Honduras does not encourage or facilitate the production or distribution of illicit drugs, nor does it participate in money laundering from the sale of illicit drugs, but corruption remains widespread in the public sphere of institutions,” he said. the report.
The report details that between January and August the Honduran authorities confiscated in Puerto Cortés 642,680 kilograms of calcium oxide and 20,716 kilograms of potassium carbonate allegedly diverted for illicit production.
He also notes that during the first nine months of 2020 cocaine seizures exceeded those of 2019, but new ships purchased by the Honduran Navy are not active in anti-drug operations due to lack of fuel (which also restricts the proactive approach) and an inadequate maintenance budget.
The INCSR also details that small-scale coca cultivation has been present in Honduras for at least the last decade.
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The State Department report emphasizes that among the measures implemented by the Honduran authorities to combat drug trafficking are the application of justice to the Police, the Army and other government officials involved in drug trafficking. drugs and related crimes.
The United States is committed to the Honduran authorities, in its first report since President Joe Biden took office, to deny drug traffickers use of Honduran territory, increase confiscations, facilitate the extradition of traffickers, support prosecutions in Honduras and build a stronger security presence in the affected areas.
collaboration
He also mentions that to combat money laundering in the last quarter of 2019, Honduras, under the coordination of the National Banking and Insurance Commission (CNBS) And with donor support, established a strategy on money laundering and combating weapons of mass destruction to implement related laws and regulations.
The Honduran Air Sovereignty Act is a possible first step toward strengthening cooperation between the United States and Honduras in the fight against air drug trafficking, as the Honduran government does not have the capacity to track all suspicious drug trafficking flights without external support.
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Similarly, the security rate, instituted in 2014 to offset funding challenges, has helped security agencies; however, more funds are required to be able to continue fighting these groups.
The United States recalled that it provides assistance to Honduras through the Central American regional security initiative, while noting that it has a close collaboration with the Government of Honduras to create a combined center for interagency operations and so on. coordinate interdiction operations and the exchange of information between the Honduran Army, Police, investigators and prosecutors.
There are still “gaps” against drug trafficking
Finally, the United States assured that it would continue to help develop the capacity of Honduran institutions to fight drugs, corruption and other criminal matters. At the same time he pointed out that the Honduran authorities demonstrated improved capacity to carry out bans in 2020, insufficient fuel, command and control breaches, lack of trust between military institutions, limited communications and law enforcement.
Julián Pacheco, Minister of the Security Secretariat, has stated that “this is an x-ray of what has been happening in Honduras in the last eight years in relation to drug trafficking in three major areas: combating criminal structures linked to extraditions, interception of drug in all its denominations, especially in Olancho and Colón, as well as the special unit that has been worked through financial intelligence “.
Pacheco Tinoco acknowledged that “much remains to be done, but at least the route against the structures has already been found and this motivates us to continue working.”