According to local media, the operation is carried out 24 hours a day, seven days a week in key points of the capital, and in Comayagüela, San Pedro Sula, and other areas of the country, to maintain permanent sectoral control.
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Roosevelt Hernández, explained during the launch of the operation, that the Armed Forces will support the National Police. He also noted that this will reinforce security actions and allow crime prevention in a season characterized by social and commercial activities increase. “This Christmas, the Honduran Armed Forces renew their commitment to work for the security and well-being of all,” he said.
Last week, the Honduran National Congress approved extending the partial state of emergency for another 45 days to guarantee security in the country, from 6:00 p.m. local time on November 21st to 6:00 p.m. on January 5th, 2025.
Official data indicate that the state of emergency, which is being implemented in 226 of the 298 municipalities in Honduras, has led to a reduction of 791 violent deaths compared to the same period last year, as well as a decrease of 161 violent homicides of women.
The government of President Xiomara Castro put the partial state of emergency into, effect for the first time, in December 2022, and has since renewed it on several occasions to reduce levels of violence in the country.
Honduran Security Minister Gustavo Sánchez recently said on a local television program that 2024 should be the year with the fewest homicides in two decades.
According to data from the Online Police Statistics System (SEPOL), in the first 10 months of 2024, Honduras had a homicide rate of 26.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest in the last 10 years.
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