Blog 12: Honduras

This week’s article is about U.S. government trained soldiers in Honduras who hunted down a 15 year old teenager and killed him. This is especially controversial because the U.S. is withholding millions of dollars in aid of police and military concerns in Honduras. The group that killed the boy was caught trying to hide any evidence of their involvement. Even though this happened back on May 26, new information has been brought to light. It seems that the actions of the group were backed by the U.S. government. The case is that the soldiers had to be vetted before the U.S. government could provide them with any supplies like the Ford truck used to track the boy down. This is a loophole since the U.S. cannot fund assistance to foreign military units who are tied to violations of human rights. Apparently this event isn’t the only thing holding the U.S. back from assisting Honduras. There have been many reports of human rights violations in Honduras.

                We do not know the reason for the government to supply a hunting party for a boy. The government had to have had a good reason for helping them since it meant cutting Honduras off from financial assistance. It seems pretty hypocritical and two-faced to me. There seems to always be someone at the end of these situations who pulls the strings. The media also takes advantage of the situation and distorts the truth to a more popular view. But who is responsible is irrelevant now. What matters is that it actually happened and what we are going to do about it. The U.S. should make sure that if they provide support, that it goes to the right people. If there’s the concern that the money could end up into corrupt hands, then it’s in the U.S. government’s best interest to provide it to the right enforcement authority.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/world/americas/honduras-teenagers-killing-could-threaten-us-aid.html?ref=freedomandhumanrights