Significance to U.S Military Operations
- Favorable opinion of U.S
- Outdated U.S resources leads to Unreliable but compatible
- No NCO corps (No backbone)
- Discussions/ Decisions with officers only
- No initiative in absence of orders
- Few english speakers
- Poor training leads to eager to learn
- Internal threats - corruption
Agenda
- Public Communications Media
- Gang Influence & Spread of Information
- Information Access and Competency
Gang Influence,
Spread of Information
Public Communications Media
Information Access
and Competency
- 54 journalists killed since 2003
- Government doesn't protect this vulnerable group
- Impunity and inability to gather evidence allows for these acts of violence
- 15 June 2015: Law put in place to defend human rights and protect social communicators
Language Barrier
- Difficulty engaging in conversation due to lack of spanish proficiency
- As a military force translators are needed.
- Demonstrated importance of presence at CEA
- Our military needs Spanish-speaking soldiers so there's easier information-sharing with Hondurans
- Banderines (scouts) gather intel for gangs by reporting military and police vehicles, as well as newcomers to their area under control
- Pay-as-you-go phones used for main communication
- Human runners, car horns, whistles and flashlights are used to signal other gang members to stash weapons, intercept the intruder, etc.
- No national news agency
- 5 national daily newspapers
- El Tiempo is more liberal and citicizes police and military
- El Heraldo is more favorable for its coverage of military aspects
- Barrio 18 and MS13 use secret coding to communicate with high-level members serving prison sentences
- Cell phone signals are cut off around jails to block illegal activity collaboration
Information Access
- 8.9% of Honduras have television
- 19% have internet access
- 6 telephones per 100 people
- The use of paper is the quickest way for the US military to send out important information in remote areas
- In the form of flyers, posters, etc.
- Hondurans love to convey information in the form of pictures
- Graffitti, statues, other pictures, and crosses all over the city
- Censorship remains an issue in the country
- Gilberto Galvarez faced charges for libel and defamation after posting a Facebook status about the cost of a bridge project
- Fears for his life
Language
Primary: Spanish
Secondary: English
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT?
Ethnic Groups
What are Hondurans proud of?
90% Mestizo
6% Amerindian
3% Black
1% White
- Language
- Ethnic Groups
- Traditions
- Class System
- Religous Influence
- Interactions
Tradition
Semana Santa
Feria de San Isidro
Feria Junia
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT?
Class System
< 10% wealthy
30% middle class
60% poverty
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE
OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT?
Religious Influence
- Catedral de San Miguel, Tegucipalpa
Interaction
- Cardinal, Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga
- Military Police are always on the streets of Honduras to prevent crime
- Parque Central in Tegucigalpa, usually everyone gathers there on sunday since almost nobody works then.
- Religion gives poverty hope
- Soccer was the best way to have fun with the locals, and the Honduran military.
Workloads
Rich vs. Poor
- The rich have the luxury of time but the poor do not
- Taxi drivers driving recklessly in order to deliver and pick up people as quickly as possible to maximize profit
- Average work hours- 12 hrs per day
- 5-6 days per week
- Many opt to work more/multiple jobs in order to increase income
- Corruption in workforce
- Work extra hours that are not paid (Honduras army paid 7000 L regardless of work schedule)
- Street workers/souvenir shop workers talking quickly and moving quickly to sell products and make money
- Very attentive, not lackadaisacal
- Example: Daniela’s Leather Shop in Santa Lucia was supposed to open at 1000 but had not opened even after 1030 when we left the area
- Perhaps the owner has money (living in Santa Lucia which is a nice area) and is not as pressed for time to open and make money
- Many will sacrifice time to travel to work (barber drives two hours to work)
- Jose (team 1 driver) will be paid a set rate even if he works more hours than required
Customs and Traditions
No work on Sundays and massive focus on religion as a whole
Transportation
Services
Obstacles
Street workers/souvenir shop workers talking quickly and moving quickly from person to person to sell products and make money; not laid back, very attentive
Whereas Daniela’s Leather Shop in Santa Lucia was supposed to open at 1000 but had not opened even after 1030 when we left the area
Perhaps the owner has money (living in Santa Lucia which is a nice area) and is not as pressed for time to open and make money
Services
Drinking water source
- Urban: 97.4%
- Rural: 83.8%
- Total: 91.2%
Obstacles
Transportation
Hurricane Mitch
- 70-80% transportation infrastructure destroyed
- 33,000 houses destroyed, 50,000 damaged
- $3 billion estimated loss
Sanitation facility access
- Urban: 86.7%
- Rural: 77.7%
- Total: 82.6%
699 km Railways
14,742 km Roadways
3,367 km Paved
Limited access to energy.
Role
Assets
- Internally focused - drug interdiction, gang violence, street presence
** More trusted than police**
- 12,000 active personnel
- 8,300 Army
- 2,300 Air Force
- 1,400 Navy
- 830 Marines
- 12 light tanks
- 57 reconnaissance vehicles
- 118 artillery pieces
- 31 patrol vessels
- 18 combat capable aircraft
- 8 fighters
Third largest military in Central America
- Army
- Navy
- Air Force
- Coast Guard
Personnel
Enlisted -- poor, no NCO corps
Sub-Officers -- Commandos
Officers -- upper class, educated
Women -- are allowed
Workloads
Rich vs. Poor
- The rich have the luxury of time but the poor do not
- Taxi drivers driving recklessly in order to deliver and pick up people as quickly as possible to maximize profit
- Average work hours- 12 hrs per day
- 5-6 days per week
- Many opt to work more/multiple jobs in order to increase income
- Corruption in workforce
- Work extra hours that are not paid (Honduras army paid 7000 L regardless of work schedule)
- Street workers/souvenir shop workers talking quickly and moving quickly to sell products and make money
- Very attentive, not lackadaisacal
- Example: Daniela’s Leather Shop in Santa Lucia was supposed to open at 1000 but had not opened even after 1030 when we left the area
- Perhaps the owner has money (living in Santa Lucia which is a nice area) and is not as pressed for time to open and make money
- Many will sacrifice time to travel to work (barber drives two hours to work)
- Jose (team 1 driver) will be paid a set rate even if he works more hours than required
Customs and Traditions
No work on Sundays and massive focus on religion as a whole
Leadership Roles Political Parties Government Effectiveness
Leadership Roles
Is The Government Effective?
What Are The Major Political Parties?
YES
o Government maintains authority, prevents failed state status
o Murder rate has decreased in the last year
o Provides funds for communal infrastructure
o Organized military
What are the roles of and how important are the civilian (nongov.) community leaders?
· Catholic Cardinal: Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga
o Plays a huge role in the lives of the local populous
o Reaches out to the Honduran population through religion
· Indigenous activist leaders
o Leads movements/protests that are created in order to defend indigenous rights.
· National Party of Honduras (PNH)
· Conservatism, Christian Humanist Doctrine
· President Juan Orlando Hernandez
· Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH)
· Liberalism
· Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE)
· Democratic Socialism
NO
Gracias Adios (eastern territory) is controlled by gangs and drug cartels.
o 62.8% of the population live in poverty
o Government embezzles funds
o Coups are common, lack of consistency in structure
o Laws are not enforced
HOW DO PEOPLE VIEW THE ROLE OF THE HONDURAN GOVERNMENT?
· The local populous holds a belief that there is a presence of corruption within their government.
· Military personnel, high-class civilians, and individuals within the government show favoritism towards the current political system.
Workloads
Rich vs. Poor
- The rich have the luxury of time but the poor do not
- Taxi drivers driving recklessly in order to deliver and pick up people as quickly as possible to maximize profit
- Average work hours- 12 hrs per day
- 5-6 days per week
- Many opt to work more/multiple jobs in order to increase income
- Corruption in workforce
- Work extra hours that are not paid (Honduras army paid 7000 L regardless of work schedule)
- Many will sacrifice time to travel to work (barber drives two hours to work)
- Jose (team 1 driver) will be paid a set rate even if he works more hours than required
- Street workers/souvenir shop workers talking quickly and moving quickly to sell products and make money
- Very attentive, not lackadaisacal
- Example: Daniela’s Leather Shop in Santa Lucia was supposed to open at 1000 but had not opened even after 1030 when we left the area
- Perhaps the owner has money (living in Santa Lucia which is a nice area) and is not as pressed for time to open and make money
Customs and Traditions
No work on Sundays and massive focus on religion as a whole
Trade
Energy
- Second poorest country in Central America
- $4,900 GDP per capita (2015 est.)
- Agriculture: 13.9%
- Industry: 26.4%
- Services: 59.7%
- 60% below the poverty line (2010 est.)
- 4.1% unemployed (2015 est.)
- One third underemployed
- Industries
- 20.9% population in Industry
- 39.8% population in Services
- Sugar, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars
- Exports: $7.759 billion
- coffee, apparel, shrimp, automobile wire harnesses, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber
- Imports: $10.9 billion
- communications equipment, machinery and transport, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
- Inflation Rate: 3.2%
- External Debt: $7.041 billion
- Agriculture
- 39.2% population
- Bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm, beef, timber, shrimp, tilapia, lobster, sugar, oriental vegetables
- Solar, Wind, Hydro, and Bio Systems are used
- Energy Import Percentage: 51.54% (2013)
- Availability of Energy: 82.2% (2015)
- Main Source without electricity: Firewood (est. 525 kg per year)
- Natural Resources
- Timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Illegal Activity
Personal Observations
- Drug trafficking
- Cannabis production
- Cocaine production
- Money-Laundering
- Corruption
- Lower standards of living
- Free health care
- Distribution of labor
- Civilian considerations to agriculture
- Distribution of wealth
- Bordering Countries
- Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador
- Borders the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean
- On the southern end Gulf of Fonseca is a highly sought after port which leads to many disputes between Honduras’s neighboring countries
- 112,090 sq. miles
- Industries Produced resources
- sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
- Natural resources
- timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
- Lake Yajoa is the major inland body of water
- Three main climate regions
- Interior highlands (mountainous region)
- Caribbean lowlands (north coast)
- Pacific lowlands (southern coast)
Mosquito Coast is broad/dense jungle on eastern coast that limits access to the Gracias a Dios region
Natural Disaster
- Hurricanes
- Hurricane season June-November
- President of Honduras estimated that Hurricane Mitch set back 50 years of economic development
- Flooding
- Coastal lowlands are susceptible to flooding which can cause mudslides that destroy homes and block roadways
- Earthquakes
- Honduras had 107 earthquakes within the last year of 1.5 or higher with some reaching up to 6.1
Southern Pine Beetle