April 2004
According to reports given to the Honduran Human Rights Defense Committee (CODEH), police and military officials have formed death squadrons that work for hire in revenge killings against gang members and other wanted individuals.
The President of CODEH, Andres Pavon, said that it is difficult to say whether or not the extrajudicial executions are related to the national police, but that the government allows it to continue gives rise to the perception that the government is indifferent and is tolerating the killings. "Yes, objectively we can say that calm has returned to the country with respect to delinquency, but the problem is that the number of illegal deaths has increased," commented Pavon.
Andres Pavon
According to CODEH, impunity is a dangerous phenomenon that affects everyone.
To date, 95% of the cases have not been investigated; the government has
filed them away to be forgotten."The issue of security is being managed
as a political issue, to win the popular vote, without taking into account
the damage that can be done to the dignity of many citizens," states
Andres Pavon. "Deeper reflection is still needed on this issue if
we are to objectively measure the costs our society is paying for this
security policy. We also need to look into how many innocent victims the
state is directly responsible for," added Pavon.
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