Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report
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Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report This is an annual report produced in conjunction with the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa. OSAC encourages travelers to use this report to gain baseline knowledge of security conditions in Honduras. For more in-depth information, review OSAC’s Honduras country page for original OSAC reporting, consular messages, and contact information, some of which may be available only to private-sector representatives with an OSAC password. Travel Advisory The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report’s publication assesses Honduras at Level 3, indicating travelers should reconsider travel due to crime. Do not travel to Gracias a Dios Department due to crime. Review OSAC’s report, Understanding the Consular Travel Advisory System. Overall Crime and Safety Situation Crime Threats The U.S. Department of State has assessed Tegucigalpa as being a CRITICAL-threat location for crime directed at or affecting official U.S. government interests. While the risk from crime in Honduras remains a concern, most U.S. citizens visiting or residing in Honduras are unaffected by violence and visit for tourism or humanitarian aid work without incident. Cruise ship industry contacts report that approximately one million U.S. citizens enter the country by ship every year, primarily in Roatán, but also in La Ceiba on the northern coast. Airlines estimate that approximately 250,000 U.S. citizens flew into Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, or Roatán in 2019. Many of these U.S. citizens are church and humanitarian aid volunteers working throughout the country, including in gang-controlled neighborhoods. The U.S. Embassy estimates at least 30,000 U.S. citizens reside in Honduras. As a result of Honduran government efforts in close cooperation with the United States, homicide rates have fallen from 86.0 per 100,000 residents in 2012 to 43.6 per 100,000 at the end of 2019. Kidnappings declined by 82% since 2013, from 92 in 2013 to 14 in 2018, and 12 in 2019. Hondurans continue to be affected by MS-13 and Calle 18 gang activity in cities such as Tegucigalpa, Choloma, La Ceiba, Tela, and San Pedro Sula. Most crime victims are members of rival gangs, small business owners who resist gang extortion, passengers on public transportation, or those involved in land tenure disputes. Violence linked to land disputes also occurs, particularly in the Bay Islands and Bajo Aguan Valley in northern Honduras. The location and timing of criminal activity are unpredictable. There is no information to suggest that criminals specifically target U.S. citizens or foreigners. While there are no areas in major urban cities free of violent crime, notably dangerous locations in Tegucigalpa include the areas surrounding Suyapa Cathedral, downtown Comayagüela, downtown Tegucigalpa, and neighborhoods in the outskirts of the city that are generally controlled by gangs. The San Pedro Sula area has seen armed robberies against tourist vans, minibuses, and cars traveling from the airport to area hotels. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and USAID implementing partners have reported threats and violence when visiting some rural communities. Those traveling with tour/missionary groups report fewer criminal incidents. Review OSAC’s report, All That You Should Leave Behind. Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report Major cities (e.g. Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba) have homicide rates higher than the national average, as do several Honduran departments (a geographic designation like U.S. States), including Atlántida, Colón, Cortés, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, and Yoro. Municipalities With the Highest Number of Homicides Municipalities With the Highest Number of Homicides 600 500 400 478 300 410 200 100 251 112 101 100 94 69 61 56 54 54 54 53 50 45 41 40 37 35 0 January to December 2019, Secretariat of Security – Honduran National Police Honduran Municipalities With Highest Percentage of Homicides 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Honduran Municipalities With Highest Percentage of Homicides January to December 2019, Secretariat of Security – Honduran National Police Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report Since 2010, there have been approximately 60 murders of U.S. citizens reported in Honduras. These deaths included several in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba involving U.S. citizens murdered shortly after arriving in the country. These crimes may have been the result of tips from sources surveilling the airport arrival area. In 2019, there was one murder case involving a resident U.S. citizen in Roatán. Armed robberies, burglaries, vandalization, home invasions, and extortions occur; closely guarded officials, businesspersons, and diplomats are not immune. There is street crime even in gated communities commonly referred to locally as Barrio Seguros; these are generally safer areas in which to reside because of their heightened security measures. In April 2019, one or more individuals attempted a surreptitious breach of perimeter fencing at a U.S. Embassy residence. Review OSAC’s reports, Hotels: The Inns and Outs and Considerations for Hotel Security. During 2019, multiple vehicles belonging to U.S. and Honduran employees of the U.S. Embassy were burglarized and/or vandalized on side streets around the Embassy compound. In October 2019, a thief stole the side view mirrors from a U.S. employee’s personally owned vehicle while it was parked on a side street near the Embassy. Roatán and the Bay Islands are geographically separate from the mainland and experience lower crime rates even when compared with other Caribbean islands. However, visitors have reported being robbed while walking on isolated beaches. Thefts, break-ins, assaults, rapes, and murders do occur. Additionally, illegal drugs are for sale in many of the popular tourist areas during the evening hours. There are an estimated 7,000-10,000 gang members in a country with an approximate population of ten million people. The 18th Street and MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) gangs are the most active and powerful. Gangs are not reluctant to use violence, and specialize in murder-for-hire, carjacking, extortion, and other violent street crime. Gangs control some of the taxi services. Violent transnational criminal organizations are also involved in narcotics trafficking and other illicit commerce. Cybersecurity Issues Extortion threats commonly originate through social engineering. Criminals sometimes obtain personal information through social media, the internet, or a victim’s family member. NGOs have reported anonymous attacks via social media, alleging that civil society actors are engaged in, or supportive of, criminal activity in Honduras. Credit card skimming is common. Embassy employees and others have experienced skimming at well- known restaurants, hotels, and retailers. There is often a spike in skimming in December and June, when the working population receive Christmas and mid-year bonuses in the form of one extra month’s salary. Review OSAC’s reports, The Overseas Traveler’s Guide to ATM Skimmers & Fraud and Taking Credit. Review OSAC’s reports, Cybersecurity Basics, Best Practices for Maximizing Security on Public Wi-Fi, Traveling with Mobile Devices: Trends & Best Practices, and Satellite Phones: Critical or Contraband? Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report Other Areas of Concern The U.S. Embassy has restricted U.S. government personnel travel to the Gracias a Dios Department in eastern Honduras because of credible threat information against U.S citizens. Those planning travel to Gracias a Dios should consider postponing their travel. Gracias a Dios is a remote location where narcotics trafficking is frequent, infrastructure is weak, government services are limited, and police/military presence is scarce. Transportation-Safety Situation Road Safety and Road Conditions Driving in Honduras can be dangerous. In 2019, there were 1,500 traffic fatalities throughout the country. Roads have poor lighting and markings. Due to the lack of enforcement of traffic laws, travelers should make an extraordinary effort to drive defensively. Even when traffic signals are working, drivers often ignore them. Passing on blind corners is common. Vehicles often drive at night without adequate lighting. Animals and people wander onto the roads. Traffic signs, even on major highways, are often inadequate; streets are often unmarked even in major cities. Major cities connect via an inconsistently maintained, two-lane system of paved roads, with many unpaved secondary roads. A significant percentage of vehicles are in disrepair, underpowered, beyond their lifecycle, and would not meet U.S. road safety standards. The Honduran government is modernizing some of the main transportation road networks to four-lane highways, which can lead to increased travel times because of ongoing construction. The U.S. Embassy strongly discourages intercity car and bus travel after dark. Avoid traveling at night and always drive with doors locked and windows rolled up to deter potential robberies at traffic lights and on congested downtown streets. Always carry a mobile phone in case of emergency. Exercise extreme caution driving on isolated stretches of road and passing other vehicles on mountainous curves. Review OSAC’s reports, Road Safety Abroad, Driving Overseas: Best Practices, and Evasive Driving Techniques; and read the State Department’s webpage on driving and road safety abroad. Municipalities With Highest Number of Deaths Attributed to Traffic Accidents 200 150 100 179 177 50 61 52 39 0 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 24 23 23 22 21 19 16 January to December 2019, Secretariat of Security – Honduran National Police Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report Public Transportation Conditions The public transportation sector is a regular target of extortion, and experiences higher levels of homicide than many other sectors. There have been multiple incidents of gang members destroying city buses and taxis, and reports that gang members rob, assault, rape, kidnap, or murder passengers. Passengers on public buses have been the victims of robbery at roadblocks and bus stops, during daytime and nighttime hours.