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🇭🇳 Honduras /Elections & Politics

Honduran Security Minister Highlights Institutional Recovery and Operational Gains

From Proceso Digital · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Honduras's Minister of Security, Gerzon Velásquez, reported significant institutional recovery and operational progress within his first 180 days in office.
  • Velásquez stated the ministry was inherited in debt and disarray, with essential systems non-functional, requiring a portion of the 2026 budget to cover past debts.
  • The new strategy focuses on targeted operations in municipalities with high homicide rates, leading to the dismantling of criminal structures, weapon seizures, and arrests.

Honduras's Minister of Security, Gerzon Velásquez, asserted that his ministry has undergone substantial institutional recovery and achieved notable operational advancements in the six months since the current administration took office. Speaking on national television, Velásquez detailed the challenging conditions inherited from the previous administration, describing the ministry as "indebted, paralyzed, and with essential systems out of order."

Velásquez explained that a significant portion of the 2026 budget had to be allocated to settling inherited financial obligations, including outstanding salaries, rent, fuel costs, and overdue employer contributions. He emphasized that the ministry was burdened with "millions in financial commitments" that the current government was compelled to honor.

To address this situation, the administration prioritized "putting order in the house" to redefine the security strategy based on available resources and a territorial focus for operations. The new approach concentrates police resources on approximately 30 municipalities that account for 70% of the country's violence, identified through official data and territorial analysis.

Velásquez reported significant results within these first 180 days, including the capture and dismantling of 117 criminal structures, the removal of over four thousand weapons from circulation, and the arrest of nearly five thousand individuals linked to criminal gangs. He also highlighted a reduction in homicides exceeding six percent compared to the previous year, equating to approximately 100 fewer deaths. The ministry aims to further decrease the homicide rate by at least two points by the end of the year. Additionally, investments have been made in intelligence systems and criminal investigation tools, including the recovery of the Ballistic Identification Integrated System (IBIS), deemed crucial for forensic analysis and criminal prosecution.

putting order in the house

— Gerzon VelásquezDescribing the initial priority of reorganizing the Ministry of Security.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Proceso Digital in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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