Much of our dinner conversation revolved around current events and national politics. According to my friends, Honduras has become a staging area for drug trafficking, as the Mexican government has clamped down on the trade through its borders. Within Honduras, there are a number of unpaved runways deep in the countryside where the Colombians land with their products. About a week ago, there was a land dispute between farmers and cattle ranchers in eastern Honduras that resulted in ten people being killed with AK-47s. While land disputes are common, the use of automatic weapons almost certainly points to the drug trade’s involvement. Apparently, some of the Mexican drug cartels have come to Honduras to set up operations that transport the illegal substances by both land and sea to the lucrative American market.
On the politics front, I have learned that Honduras’ president, Manuel Zelaya, has populist tendencies and is friends with Venezuela’s notorious socialist, Hugo Chavez. In Honduras, the president has only one four-year term with no provision for reelection. National elections will occur again in November 2009.Joel Montgomery
