Honduras Now Podcast

Many are thinking about and watching what is going on in Gaza and Israel. The parallels of North American support for a dictatorship in Honduras and the strategies of transnational resistance provide hope and inspire action from all of us to stop the bombing of Gaza and the murder of innocent people. This episode announces an upcoming campaign as ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández's trial in...

In the last few weeks, Honduras has hit the international press, and not for good reasons. Host Karen Spring discusses violence, trauma, and Honduran culture and challenges with Faridd Sierra, a Honduran that grew up in the U.S. but has since moved back to live in Honduras. Since returning, Faridd has been closely following the human rights, political, and social situation in Honduras and tweets r...

It's almost been one year since President Xiomara Castro took power in Honduras. As President Castro has tried to fulfill her campaign promises, her government has been met by opposition from the U.S. This episode shares a presentation given by Karen Spring to the Rochester Committee on Latin America (ROCLA). Karen describes important reforms that the Castro government has implemented and desc...

This is part three of a three-part series, the Drug War Cover-up series that describes the incidents surrounding the DEA-led drug interdiction operation known as the Ahuas massacre on May 11, 2012. In Part three, host Karen Spring speaks with journalist and researcher, Dawn Marie Paley about the effects of the drug war in the Americas. Paley talks about how people going about their daily life are...

This is Part II (Ep. 35) of the three part Drug War Cover-Up series that describes the incidents surrounding the DEA-led drug interdiction operation known as the Ahuas massacre on May 11, 2012. In Part II, host Karen Spring describes what happened in the weeks and years following the massacre including whether the DEA was held accountable, what happened in Washington, DC in the incident's afte...

On May 11, 2012, a passenger boat was traveling on the Patuca river in a remote region in eastern Honduras. The 16 passengers were headed to the village of Ahuas. Right as they were about to dock, they were attacked by DEA agents & Honduran police that were involved in an alleged drug interdiction operation. This episode describes what happened that night and shares extensive testimony from th...

Just as US President Biden and VP Harris are launching yet another plan to address migration from Central America, U.S. Congress representatives traveled to the region to hear from those most affected by U.S. policy in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The delegation, "Unearthing the Real Root Causes of Mass Migration from Central America" was led by Congress Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was jo...

On May 10th, 2022, ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) faced U.S. Judge Kevin Castel. Since his extradition from Honduras, JOH's family has launched a PR strategy claiming that he will return (#volvera). His defense team is also proposing an odd defense, which includes hiring a private detective and claiming they will call high-level U.S. officials to testify in JOH's trial. Hear an...

Tomas Andino is a Honduran political analyst and sociologist. In a presentation he gave in mid-March, Tomas describes the US position under Obama and Trump over the years of the narco-dictatorship. He answers some of the common questions that many ask about Xiomara's election: How, after so many electoral frauds, did a progressive government win the 2021 elections? H ow is President Xiomara&#3...

On February 16, ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez was arrested by Honduran police. Since then, his extradition process to the United States to stand trial on drug trafficking and weapons charges, has been unfolding in Honduras. His arrest has sparked debates about whether his rights are being violated; the future of Honduran institutions involved in the narco-state; and how his supporters, inclu...

U.S. banana companies have a long history in Honduras. Their historical involvement in providing education has shaped some of the ways in which the Honduran education system developed, particularly along the north coast. Today, we speak with Kate Kedley, a professor and activist about her long relationship with Honduras, including her interesting insights into a range of issues including english e...

On January 27, President Xiomara Castro was inaugurated in the presence of thousands of Honduras and several international invitees in the national stadium in Tegucigalpa. It was an exciting celebration that marks the start of a new era for Honduras, despite the existence of a Congressional crisis that could have put President Xiomara's progressive agenda in jeopardy. *** Follow us on Instagra...

On November 28, almost 70% of Hondurans eligible to vote went to the polls and elected Xiomara Castro as their next President. The victory represents a slam dunk win for the LIBRE party but also for the Honduran people, who voted in masses to end the 12-year U.S.-backed narco-dictatorship. Host Karen Spring interviews Honduran women in the social movement and human rights organizations about their...

On November 28, 2021, Hondurans will go to the polls to vote in the 2021 general elections. What route will the country take? Host Karen Spring gives an overview of the basics about the election and then plays an interview with Honduran sociologist Eugenio Sosa. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Fb: @HondurasNow Shownote: hondurasnow.org Thank you for your generous donations to this podcast.

As the COP26 is meeting in Glasgow, UK, Honduran communities maintain their resistance against "clean" energy projects proposed in their communities. These types of projects are often financed in the name of mitigating climate change but create social conflict and environmental destruction in the communities where they are proposed. The Jilamito dam project in Arizona, Atlántida is an exam...

On September 17, political prisoners Edwin Espinal and Raúl Alvarez were acquitted! Host Karen Spring shares her experiences of working to free Edwin and Raúl while thanking each and every person who helped them along the way. This small victory shows the power of national and international solidarity. Check out Honduras Now on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hondurasnow/ Twitter: @hondurasno...

On Monday, September 13, 2021, political prisoners Edwin Espinal & Raúl Alvarez will stand trial on trumped up charges stemming from the 2017 electoral crisis. Both were released from pre-trial detention in August 2019 but are not fully in the clear. The trial next week will determine whether they will be sent back to prison for 15 to 30 years. Listen to a summary of the case and hear an inter...

On July 5, a Sentencing court in Tegucigalpa convicted Roberto David Castillo Mejía for the murder of indigenous activist and environmentalist, Berta Cáceres. Castillo is a US-trained military intelligence officer and the former President of the dam company, DESA, that tried to build the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque river. Berta Cáceres, along with COPINH and the communities of Rio Blanco, opp...

The recent news of the 215 children found in graves at Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia, Canada, has made headlines all over the world. The news raises more questions about Canada's colonial history and causes outrage about the treatment of indigenous peoples in Canada and globally. Host Karen Spring speaks with Dr. Tyler Shipley, a professor, activist, and author of the book &#...

This year, new legislation about Honduras was presented in the US Congress. This episode provides a brief overview of the legislative initiatives related to human rights and corruption in Honduras and shares responses from Honduran social movement leaders and the government about such efforts. To read the bills and to find out if your representatives have signed on (or not), go to: 'Get Involv...

The important trial against David Castillo, one of the accused co-authors of indigenous activist Berta Cáceres' murder, is underway in Honduras. Before her murder, Cáceres faced several attempts to silence her resistance. Many of the same repressive tactics used against Cáceres - criminalization, imprisonment, threats, and murder - are still employed regularly against land defenders, human rig...

Drones, walls, extreme surveillance, racism, and tension are some of the things you will experience when near the US-Mexico border. How have border walls become the solution to a crisis that isn't really a crisis but a human-made US policy problem that must be fixed?  Today, we speak with author and independent journalist Todd Miller, who recently published a book called "Build bridges, no...

On March 14th, Hondurans went to the polls to vote in the 2021 primary elections. Host Karen Spring interviews Honduran sociologist and political analyst, Tomas Andino Mencía about the primaries and discusses what they mean in the context of the Honduran narco-state, migration, and the general electoral political reality in the country. If all continues as is, will Honduras see another political c...

On February 6, 2021, 26-year old Keyla Martinez was detained by Honduran police. The next day, the police claimed that Keyla had hung herself inside the detention cell in the police station where she was being held. The case quickly became a national scandal. Conflicting evidence surfaced that calls into question the version of the Honduran police. In this episode of the podcast, we hear interview...

Berta Cáceres is one of the most well-known Honduran activists. She was murdered in her home almost 5 years ago on March 2, 2016. The legal case against David Castillo, one of the accused masterminds of Berta Cáceres’s murder keeps being postponed. To date, no other intellectual authors have been accused or arrested despite sufficient evidence outlining the involvement of powerful Honduran busines...