On October 5, President Obama received Porfirio Lobo of Honduras at the White House. celebrating advances in human rights, restoration of democracy and reconciliation under Lobo’s leadership and stating that Honduras “gives us great hope.” President Obamas’ glowing depiction of democracy and reconciliation in Honduras stands in shocking contrast with daily reports from Honduras and national and international human rights organizations underscoring grave concerns regarding the direction of U.S. policy.

For the people of Honduras that we accompany every day, the human rights and democratic crisis is far from over; repression continues unabated and policies of state terror are consolidated.  A military offensive has been launched against the organized peasants of the Aguan Valley; targeted killings of leaders and evictions of peasant communities from their lands has escalated.  Military bases, “model cities” and tourism projects are constructed on communal and indigenous lands.  Environmental defenders are criminalized for protecting mountains, forests and watersheds from logging and mining. Fifteen journalists have been assassinated in 19 months under the Lobo regime.  Human rights defenders are deliberately targeted. The practice of forced disappearance is once again being systematically implemented.

As a result of its investigation into those responsible for the violence, the Commission of Truth is a target for surveillance, intimidation, threats, and an assassination attempt. In late June, Fr. Fausto Milla, a member of the Commission of Truth, and his assistant were forced into exile due to death threats.

Despite this grim reality the U.S. government  has declared that Honduras is “Open for Business,” courting multinational corporations and predatory investors with money linked to neoliberal economic policies, militarization and repression.  New military bases are being built and existing ones expanded.  Military aid is flowing despite the call of 87 members of Congress to suspend it due to ongoing human rights abuses and impunity on the part of state security forces. 

Honduras continues to be the U.S. military and intelligence stronghold in Central America; it is embedding more heavily, insisting that increased militarization is necessary for regional security, the war on crime and drugs. At the same time, a well orchestrated campaign of terror against social movements in Honduras continues with impunity, conducted by a state which the U.S. is equipping, training and funding. 

Historically U.S. policies and intervention in Central America have left a tragic legacy of violence and poverty: strengthening brutal, corrupt dictators and economic elites while waging war on the poor and their efforts to bring about social change and justice. Rather than learning from the mistakes of the past, the United States is repeating them, condemning another generation to the terrors of war and trauma from which previous generations throughout the region have not yet had the opportunity to heal.

In April 2009, during the Fifth Summit of the Americas, President Obama promised CHANGE in the way that the U.S. has historically treated Latin America and the Caribbean.  His promise was made just months before the military coup and ensuing crisis in Honduras which the U.S. has legitimated and consolidated.  There is hope in Honduras, but it is not found in the abusive power structures which the U.S. supports.  Hope is found in the bottom up social movements which continue to struggle for deep structural change, social justice and human rights in Honduras. 

The Honduras Accompaniment Project (HAP) receives more requests than ever for international human rights accompaniment as Honduras fades from international attention and repression intensifies. Please visit our website www.friendshipamericas.org for more information - contact jennya@friendshipamericas.com if you are interested in accompaniment or training. 

[The author is Cp-Director of the new Friendship Office of the Americas in DC and the Honduras Accompaniment Project.]