No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCentral AmericaHondurasPerilous Political Campaigns in Honduras: A Photo Story

Perilous Political Campaigns in Honduras: A Photo Story

Imagine working for the police in Honduras, the country with the highest per-capita murder rate in the world. In a place that doesn’t have an outright war raging, a violent death still takes place every 74 minutes.

The shocking amount of crime, fueled by gangs and drug-trafficking, is one of many factors contributing to the mass exodus of Central Americans to the United States. Tens of thousands of Hondurans, most of them children, make the 1,400-mile trek to escape the dire conditions in their country. U.S. President Barack Obama recently requested $3.7 billion in emergency funds to help alleviate what he declared a “humanitarian crisis” at the U.S. border.

Gang violence is behind most of the crime in Honduras, and police officers work in dangerous conditions to try to combat criminal activity. Most wear masks to shield themselves from becoming targets of the violence.

Photographer Sean Sutton spent almost three weeks in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, traveling with a police investigative unit and watching officers tackle violent crime in one of the most dangerous regions of the world. Here are his photographs.

Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post
Photo by Sean Sutton/Panos Pictures for The Washington Post

© 2014, The Washington Post

Trending Now

Costa Rica Allows Cryptocurrency Donations for Political Parties

Costa Rica's electoral authorities have approved a groundbreaking shift, letting political parties accept donations in select cryptocurrencies for the first time. This move, led...

Costa Rica Ranger Trapped After Falling off Cliff on Cocos Island

Rescue teams in Costa Rica continue their efforts to save a park ranger who fell down a 40-meter cliff on Isla del Coco. The...

El Salvador Bans Inclusive Language in Public Schools

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has taken another step to reshape the country's education system. On Thursday, he declared a complete ban on what...

Costa Rica Bill Targets Pretrial Detention for Organized Crime Cases

Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly is moving forward with a bill that aims to strengthen the rules around pretrial detention in response to growing threats...

Emmy-winning Salvadoran Journalist Deported from US

Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara said Friday he was deported from the United States for reporting on the unjust arrests of migrants under President Donald...

Costa Rica Court Orders Urgent Regulation of Tuna Fishing Law

Costa Rica's Constitutional Court has stepped in to push the government on a long-delayed tuna fishing law. The court partially backed an appeal from...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica