Honduras

The Republic of Honduras is a country located in Central America. Bordered to the west by Guatemala, the southwest by El Salvador, the southeast by Nicaragua, and the north by the Gulf of Honduras, the nation is centrally located and attractive to drug traffickers because of its varied terrain and central location. This central location, and the violence caused by drug traffickers, has made drug policy considerations of primary concern to both the United States and Honduran governments, especially since the 1980s.

Despite being a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine and a cannabis-producing nation, rates of drug use in Honduras are relatively low. The United Nations (UN) estimates that approximately 1.5 percent of population between the ages of 15 and 64 use cannabis annually, which is below the regional average rate of use. Yet, rates of cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulant use have been increasing. Based on UN data, nearly 1 percent of Hondurans between the ages of 15 and 64 use cocaine and approximately 0.8 percent use amphetamine annually.

Beginning in the 1970s, cocaine surged in popularity as a recreational drug in the United States. Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine, responsible for nearly 80 percent of that drug's total output. Since the United States represents the largest market for Colombian cocaine, various routes are used to transport the drug there. Once in the United States, cocaine is sold for between $80 and $120 per gram. Cocaine is moved through Central America to northern Mexico, where it can be smuggled across the United States–Mexico border. Honduras is a popular route for cocaine smugglers, as its location allows easy access by air and water to both Mexico, which is the launching point for over 65 percent of the cocaine transported into the United States, and Florida, which receives the remainder.

Honduras has suffered greatly as a result of drug trafficking through its territory. During the 1980s, American foreign policy focused upon providing support to the Nicaraguan Contras (guerilla fighters) who used U.S.-sanctioned bases for attacks against Nicaragua's Sandinista government and U.S.-run training camps for Salvadoran counterinsurgents. As a result, drug trafficking increased in Honduras. In 1988, however, the UN Convention Against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was ratified. This international treaty represented an escalation of the “War on Drugs,” and increased international and U.S. efforts to reduce drug trafficking throughout the region, including Honduras. Early U.S. initiatives focused on the overthrow of Panamanian General Manuel Noriega through Operation Just Cause and the fight against left-wing guerillas such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) through Plan Colombia. Increasing focus was placed on stopping drug trafficking in Central America, including Honduras, as these other initiatives proved not wholly successful.

Persistent Honduran economic problems permitted drug traffickers to provide an attractive alternative source of income for many. A dispute between independent banana producers and Chiquita Brands International, Inc., that began in 1990 lasted until 1992, reducing the per capita income in Honduras by 60 percent. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras, destroying cities, towns, crops, and roads. Several thousand Hondurans were killed by Hurricane Mitch and over 1 million (nearly 15 percent of the total population) were displaced. Drug traffickers offered a profitable alternative lifestyle but also caused a tremendous increase in drug-related crime. Following the 2005 national elections, Manuel Zelaya was elected on a platform that included promises to fight crime and the drug trade.

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