Violence, Poverty Reign in Honduran City

 

There are rules for living in the neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Everyone knows them: There are places you do not go without permission. When driving, it is best to leave the windows of the car down so gang members can see who is inside. And, it is safest to stay home after dark, leaving the streets to the armed men and drug dealers¹ who kill easily.

Honduras’ second-largest city is where many recent caravans³ of migrants have formed to head north to Mexico and then to the United States. The people in the caravans are fleeing violence, poverty and corruption⁴.

The northern district of San Pedro Sula is home to nearly 230,000 people. Just 50 police officers watch over its 189 neighborhoods.

The most dangerous neighborhoods are Planeta, Lomas del Carmen and La Rivera Hernandez. Police inspector⁵ Wilmer López says he has arrested gang members as young as 9 years old.

Police officers carry handguns, and soldiers armed with assault rifles follow them closely. “They make us feel safer,” López said.

On a recent night, reporters with the Associated Press joined police as they drove through some of the most dangerous parts of San Pedro Sula.

López said nine different gangs are known to operate in this part of town. They include the well-known 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. Both formed more than 20 years ago in Los Angeles, California. They spread to Central America after the United States deported⁶ some of their members. The gangs grew into very violent transnational organizations that cause the high death rate and other crimes in Central America’s so-called Northern Triangle — Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They are famous for the bodies and graffiti they leave behind.

On this night, the area is mostly peaceful. Police check identification cards at drinking places. But by 6 in the morning, police find the first body of the day -- just behind the Rivera Hernandez police station.

San Pedro Sula was the world’s most murderous city from 2011 to 2014.

At a small restaurant, news comes on the television that a man at a nearby tire shop has been killed. The man’s body appears on camera. People in the restaurant keep eating.

“People are not shocked when someone gets killed,” said Salvador Nasralla. He is a former opposition⁷ presidential candidate.

The National Civil Police say killings⁸ have dropped a lot nationally in recent years. In 2011, the rate was 86 killings for every 100,000 people. Last year, the rate was 41 per 100,000 residents. But the country still has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

In San Pedro Sula, some say violence has decreased since about 800 gang members got moved from a prison in the city to a prison in the western mountains. In the first prison, they continued to run their criminal dealings.

People from all over Honduras go to San Pedro Sula whenever a new migrant caravan² is about to leave.

Lara is a 27-year-old laborer⁹. He left San Pedro Sula, even though he had a good job there helping¹⁰ build a church. The gangs, he said, were trying to force him and his friends to join.

“They are collecting young people to work for them,” Lara said. He added, “it’s not voluntary, and if you say, ‘No,’ they kill you.”

Many Hondurans blame the country’s problems on President Juan Orlando Hernández. He was re-elected in 2018 even though the country’s constitution bans second terms. Hernandez promised Hondurans a “better life.” But he has been unable to deliver that promise for the country’s poorest and most endangered people.

The United States has threatened the Northern Triangle countries with security and humanitarian¹¹ aid cuts if they do not stop the caravans of migrants. But, observers say the move could have an opposite effect if jobs and anti-poverty programs suffer.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

caravan - n. a group of vehicles (such as cars or wagons) traveling together

graffiti - n. pictures or words painted or drawn¹² on a wall, building, etc.

restaurant - n. a place where you can buy and eat a meal

resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place

1 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

2 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

3 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

6 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

9 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。