28, 2009, coup...the country has been descending deeper into a human rights and security abyss. That abyss is in good part the State Department's making...According to the United Nations, it now has the world's highest murder rate, and San Pedro Sula, its second city, is more dangerous than Ciudad Jurez, Mexico, a center for drug cartel violence. Much of the press in the United States has attributed this violence solely to drug trafficking and gangs. But the coup was what threw open the doors to a huge increase in drug trafficking and violence, and it unleashed a continuing wave of state-sponsored repression." This situation of repression and violence has gotten even worse. On May 11, 2012, a U.S. DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) raid in the Ahuas community of north-east Honduras left at least four innocent people dead, including two pregnant women; many more were wounded. Empowering and legitimizing the illegitimate While the United States receives most attention regarding its support for the military backed government of Honduras, Canada has played a major role in empowering and legitimizing the regime. Canada and the U.S. are the only governments that deemed 'fair and valid' the violent, illegitimate post-military coup elections in November 2009. Canada and the U.S. are the only governments to have maintained full political relations with the military-backed regime. Since the coup, both countries -- particularly Canada -- have even expanded business dealings in Honduras. In August 2011, Canadian Prime Minister Harper became the first foreign leader to actually visit