Latin America Advisor

James Nealon, former U.S. ambassador to Honduras: “Two recent, unrelated events in Honduras demonstrate both the ongoing challenges that Honduras faces, as well as the real progress that has been made over the past five years. On Nov. 23, Juan Antonio ‘Tony’ Hernández, brother of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, was arrested in Miami on drug-related charges. On Nov. 29, seven individuals were convicted by a Honduran court for the murder of indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres. An eighth was found innocent, and a ninth suspect awaits trial. The arrest of Tony Hernández illustrates again the degree to which the drug trade has penetrated the highest levels of Honduran society. But it also demonstrates that Honduras is changing. Today, nobody is surprised when political elites previously thought to be untouchable face the consequences of their actions. Each time I told President Hernández of an impending action against a prominent Honduran—the arrests of former President Callejas and the son of former President Lobo, rumors swirling about his brother, Tony—the president said the same thing…”