Honduras Now Podcast

On January 15, another migrant or refugee caravan left Honduras for the US-Mexico border. We speak with Honduran migrant rights activist, Bartolo Fuentes and independent journalist Sandra Cuffe about how the caravans form, why so many people are fleeing, how the caravans was stopped from advancing beyond Guatemala, and how U.S. President Biden's first few days in office have or have not impact...

In December 2020, the 8 imprisoned water defenders from the community of Guapinol and San Pedro sector, were granted an important bail hearing. The Municipal Committee for the Defense of Public and Common Goods and allies gathered outside the courthouse in Tocoa, Colon to demand their immediate freedom. The Guapinol water conflict has been going on for over 2.5 years. The water defenders have been...

Honduras was hit by two hurricanes - Eta and Iota - in less than two weeks. The hurricanes and the continuous rains since, have caused tremendous economic and human loss. Host Karen Spring provides an overview of the estimated damage and shares an interview conducted with freelance journalist Jose Luis Granados Ceja. Karen and Luis discuss the past and current political context that not only under...

Hurricane Eta has devastated large parts of Honduras's most populated regions. Even before making landfall in Nicaragua on November 3, 2020, rivers around the country began spilling over forcing thousands of people to flee their homes to escape the catastrophic flooding. Host Karen Spring shares an interview with one man about his experiences rescuing people by boat the days during and after t...

In 2019, the Trump administration announced the "America Crece" or the "Growth in the Americas" plan for Latin America. Just days away from the US election, Honduras Now podcast host Karen Spring speaks with freelance journalist, Jeff Abbott who investigated the "America Crece" program. They discuss how these regional neoliberal development plans have bipartisan support in...

The US elections are less than 3 weeks away. Both Trump and Biden's immigration policy has a huge impact on Honduras and Honduran families. Over 1 million Hondurans live in the US and thousands migrate to the US-Mexico border every year. Today, we hear from Judy Ancel of the Kansas City-based organization, the Cross Border Network that co-sponsored an online event this week to outline six immi...

We take a trip to the Alemania neighbourhood in El Progreso, Yoro to speak with a community in resistance. In the midst of a land struggle, the women in the Alemania protest and pressure Honduran authorities for food assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic. When they were repressed, they take matters into their own hands. 6 months later, they are still going strong. This is what resistance and sol...

September 15, 2020 was Independence Day in Honduras. But some ask: What independence? Host Karen Spring speaks with Gabriela Amador of the Pro-Honduras Network to discuss the legal cases against Honduran drug traffickers in US courts.

August 9, 2019 is a day to remember. It was the final day of an entire week of action and struggle to demand the freedom of all Honduran political prisoners. Dr. Adrienne Pine joins Karen Spring to co-host a discussion that recaps the struggle to free two Honduran political prisoners - Karen's partner, Edwin Espinal and Raul Alvarez. Both were imprisoned for 19 months in a maximum-security pri...

In more ways than one, global actors are involved and invested in the tourist industry in Honduras. The land issues surrounding the industry, particularly in Afro-indigenous Garifuna territory, overlap with state measures to control and manage land in the name of environmental protection and conservation. We hear from Dr. Chris Loperena, an assistant professor of anthropology who acted as an exper...

It’s been 21 days since five men - four Afro-indigenous Garifuna men and another man from Belize - were forcibly disappeared from the community of Triunfo de la Cruz. The host Karen Spring interviews Cesar Benedict, a community leader in Triunfo de la Cruz and a member of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH). Cesar provides information about the Honduran government's supposed...

On July 18, 2020, Afro-indigenous Garifuna land defenders were kidnapped from their homes and disappeared. This episode goes through the series of events since their disappearance. For decades, the Garifuna people have been threatened by the global tourist industry and African palm companies that want to take their collectively-owned ancestral lands. The Garifuna have resisted and have faced repre...

Healthcare workers are on the front lines of the Covid-19 crisis that continues to worsen in Honduras. This week, Honduran physicians delivered a strong message to North American and Honduran sweatshops. They are also protesting against the other pandemic exacerbating Covid-19's impacts in the country: corruption

Its been 11 years since the 2009 coup in Honduras. This episode provides a brief overview of the current crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of the 11th anniversary of the 2009 coup d'état. We hear from social movement leader and President of STIBYS union, Carlos H. Reyes and the General Coordinator of COPINH, Berta Zúñiga Cáceres.

This episode is an overview of the June 28, 2009 coup d'état in Honduras. Why did it happen? Who supported it? Featuring voices from Hondurans in the streets of Tegucigalpa on June 28, 2009 & examining the role of the U.S. and Canadian governments in an event that sparked the on-going economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Honduras.

Get a taste of what the Honduras Now Podcast is all about. Meet your host, Karen Spring, the Honduras-based Coordinator for the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) with over a decade of experience living and working on human rights issues in Honduras.