ABSTRACT
In an attempt to counter endemic violence, tougher security policies were unveiled in 2014 by the three countries of Central America’s ‘northern triangle’: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Shortly after his inauguration as president, on 27 January, Hernandez began to fulfil his campaign promise to adopt a tough line on Honduras’s criminal groups. Hernandez announced that the security forces would target criminal groups in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, under a new initiative entitled Operation Morazan. The group called for verification by international bodies such as the Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the International Committee of the Red Cross. A similar report released by the Honduran authorities the previous month presented several cases in which Barrio 18 had taken control of entire urban neighbourhoods. The authorities also reported that many families had avoided returning to areas retaken by the security forces, due to concerns that the gangs would come back.
