Honduras: a pariah state, or innovative solutions to organized crime deserving U.S. support? / R. Evan Ellis.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Ellis, Robert Evan, author.

Contributor:

Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute, publisher.

Army War College (U.S.). Press, publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Organized crime--Honduras.

Organized crime.

Gangs--Honduras.

Gangs.

Security sector--Honduras.

Security sector.

Interagency coordination--Honduras.

Interagency coordination.

Honduras.

Genre:

Online resources.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 82 pages)

Other Title:

Pariah state, or innovative solutions to organized crime deserving U.S. support

Place of Publication:

Carlisle Barracks, PA : Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, 2016.

System Details:

text file

PDF

Summary:

"Since his election in 2013, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has made significant changes in the strategy and institutions of the country in combating the interrelated scourges of organized crime and violent gangs, which have prejudiced Honduras as well as its neighbors. Principal among these are the creation of a new inter-agency structure, de la Fuerza de Seguridad Interinstitucional Nacional (the National Inter-Agency Security Force [FUSINA]), integrating the military, police, prosecutors, special judges, and other state resources to combat organized crime and delinquency in the country. More controversially, he has created a new police force within the military, the Policía Militar del Orden Público (Military Police of Public Order [PMOP]), which has been deployed both to provide security to the nation's principal urban areas, Tegucigalpa, Comayaguela and San Pedro Sula, and to participate in operations against organized crime groups ... The new security policies of the Hernandez administration against transnational organized crime and the gang threat, set forth in its Inter-Agency Security Plan and 'OPERATION MORAZÁN, ' have produced notable successes. With U.S. assistance, FUSINA and the Honduran government dismantled the leadership of the nation's two principal family-based drug smuggling organizations, the Cachiros and the Los Valles, and significantly reduced the use of the national territory as a drug transit zone, particularly narco flights. Murders in the country have fallen from 86.5 per 100,000 in 2011, to 64 per 100,000 in 2014. This monograph focuses on the evolution of the transnational organized crime and gang challenges in Honduras, the strategy and structures of the Hernandez administration in combating them, associated challenges, and provides recommendations for the U.S. military and policymakers to support the country in such efforts"--Publisher's web site.

Contents:

Introduction

Methodology

The Honduran security challenge

Gangs

Honduras' new initiatives to combat organized crime and insecurity

National Interagency Task Force (FUSINA)

Military Police for Public Order (PMOP)

Tigres

Other organizations within the public ministry

FUSINA operations

Penitentiary reform

Cooperation with the United States

Cooperation with other countries

Impacts of Honduran government efforts in the fight against organized crime and gangs

Challenges for Honduras in the fight against organized crime

Police reform

Potential future PMOP corruption

Institutional rivalries

Intelligence

Criminal investigation capability

FUSINA interagency coordination

FUSINA administrative challenges

Honduras-Guatemala border control

Money laundering

Human rights

Leadership by civilian institutions

Relationship with the United States

Replacing the criminal economy

Urban culture of gangs, violence, and poverty

Recommendations for U.S. policymakers

Adequate level of U.S. financial support for Honduras

Prudent engagement on military police and air interdiction

Focus on technology, intelligence, and training support

Look for innovative material solutions

Strengthen institutional ties in professional military education

Expand U.S. Coast Guard ties with the Honduran Navy

Work where possible with the inter-American system

Leverage the Central America-Dominican Republic free trade agreement for economic support

Conclusion.

Notes:

"June 2016."

Print version available for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Publishing Office.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 68-82).

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SSI, viewed June 24, 2016).

OCLC:

952173271