January 10, 2023
We were shocked to find that Honduras has suspended its constitution in December to fight gangs. President Xiomara Castro said she has had enough, so to combat the “gangs” she has shut down the country to an extent, suspending its constitution for certain departments and curtailing certain liberties protected under it.
But so far it has not done much but piss people off in the streets while the gangs are doing nothing more than change their appearance to get past the net of the law. Meanwhile, much like the COVID-19 lockdowns, the suspension of the constitution are proving to be overbearing and annoying to decent people who only want to take a walk to the store.
Any government deciding to take away its citizens freedoms is a tricky situation. People tend not to forget that. Especially innocent people who are just collateral victims to the government’s heavy hand. Of course, people are in the streets in Honduras. Just to crack down on a few gangs. At the end of the day, President Castro will regret this move, no matter how many people are arrested and a few gang cells may be disrupted. There has to be another way.
You just can’t wash away years of social decay in a few weeks of a constitutional suspension. Gangs do not spring up overnight and in our experience, the more coordinated and sophisticated the gang, the higher the likelihood someone in power controls its activities and covers for them.
So, President Castro may not have far to look to crack down on gangs than perhaps her own cabinet or government offices. The police force and judicial complexes are the first logical places to start investigations. She should try that route.