Amid scandal, U.S. lawmakers oppose funding Honduran government
Amid scandal, U.S. lawmakers oppose funding Honduran government
by: Emile Schepers
August 24 2015
As a massive scandal involving corruption and abuse of power by the administration of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez envelops this impoverished Central American country, a group of 21 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry calling for the suspension of projected U.S. aid to Honduran police.
The money for aid to the Honduran police is part of an appropriation for fiscal year 2016 that the Obama administration has requested to fund the "Alliance for Prosperity." The appropriation, of $1 billion, would fund aid to social welfare systems but also to the security services of the three northernmost countries of Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The Congressional letter, dated Wednesday August 19, addresses itself to the fact that President Hernandez has been pursuing a policy of militarizing the functions of the Honduran police, leading to multiple complaints of violations of human rights.
Hernandez and his administration are also accused of massive corruption, and have been the target of huge demonstrations, calling for his resignation since April.
Hernandez, of the National Party, was elected president in 2013 in an election that was marred by accusations of fraud and the murder of a number of members of the left-wing LIBRE party of former president Manuel Zelaya and his wife, Xiomara Castro, who was LIBRE's candidate in that election and had been expected to win. Since then, it has been found that the previous administration of President Porfirio Lobo, also from the National Party had diverted funds intended for health care of poor Hondurans and used them to illegally support Hernandez' election.
More:
http://peoplesworld.org/amid-scandal-u-s-lawmakers-oppose-funding-honduran-government/
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