state of exception increased cases of torture and abuse, says NGO

The state of exception in force in Honduras since December 2022 to combat crime has favored cases of torture and abuse of power, a human rights NGO said on Thursday (14).

The measure decreed by the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, on December 6, 2022, is similar, in some respects, to the exception regime in El Salvador in March 2022 to combat gangs, which drastically reduced homicides, but is criticized by human rights groups.

“Far from guaranteeing security,” the state of exception in Honduras contributed to a “greater perception of insecurity (…) and provided multiple abuses of power, including abuse, injuries and acts of torture,” said the NGO Cristosal in a report.