I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1945 

To suspend United States security assistance with Honduras until such time 

as human rights violations by Honduran security forces cease and their 

perpetrators are brought to justice. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2019 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. MOORE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. FOSTER, 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

RUSH, Mr. TONKO, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LYNCH, Miss RICE of 

New York, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MCGOVERN, 

Ms. HAALAND, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. HIMES, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 

KIND, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. TED LIEU of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To suspend United States security assistance with Honduras 

until such time as human rights violations by Honduran 

security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought 

to justice. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Berta Ca ́ceres Human 

5 Rights in Honduras Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Honduran police are widely established 

9 to be deeply corrupt and commit human rights 

10 abuses, including torture, rape, illegal detention, and 

11 murder, with impunity. 

12 (2) The New York Times revealed documents 

13 on April 15, 2016, indicating that top officials of the 

14 Honduran police ordered the killings of drug-crime 

15 investigators Julia ́n Arı ́stides Gonza ́les and Alfredo 

16 Landaverde in 2009 and 2011, respectively, with the 

17 subsequent knowledge of top police and, evidently, 

18 high-ranking government officials. The Times sug19 gested in a subsequent article that the revelations 

20 were being manipulated by the President of Hon21 duras for his own corrupt purposes. Both cases re22 main in impunity. 

23 (3) Individuals in the police with documented 

24 records of having committed gross human rights 

25 abuses with impunity continue to serve in, and be 


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1 appointed and reappointed to high positions with the 

2 police. Former general in the Armed Forces Julian 

3 Pacheco Tinoco, the Minister of Security, was the 

4 highest ranking official in charge of the repression 

5 of protesters by the police following the November 

6 27, 2017, election, and has been twice named in 

7 United States Federal court as overseeing drug traf8 ficking. He was reappointed to his position by Presi9 dent Juan Orlando Herna ́ndez in December 2018. 

10 (4) Other individuals who previously served in 

11 high-ranking positions and who are documented to 

12 have committed gross human rights abuses continue 

13 in impunity. 

14 (5) International human rights bodies have re15 ported that the Honduran military and police com16 mit human rights abuses, including killings, with im17 punity. The Associated Press has documented death 

18 squad activity by police. Human Rights Watch has 

19 reported: ‘‘The use of lethal force by the national po20 lice is a chronic problem.’’. In its report for 2018 it 

21 concluded that ‘‘Violent crime is rampant in Hon22 duras’’. It noted that: ‘‘Marred by corruption and 

23 abuse, the judiciary and police remain largely inef24 fective. Impunity for crime and human rights abuses 

25 is the norm.’’. 


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1 (6) The Department of State’s 2018 Human 

2 Rights Report for Honduras reported: ‘‘Civilian au3 thorities at times did not maintain effective control 

4 over the security forces.’’. It summarized: ‘‘The most 

5 significant human rights issues included alleged ar6 bitrary and unlawful killings; a complaint of torture; 

7 harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbi8 trary arrest or detention; unlawful interference with 

9 privacy; killings of and threats to media members,’’ 

10 and other issues. 

11 (7) Repeated efforts to clean up the Honduran 

12 police have largely failed. A recent commission 

13 charged with cleaning up the police reports that it 

14 has cleaned up over 5,000 members, but the great 

15 majority of those were separated for reasons of re16 structuring, retirements, or disabilities. Only ap17 proximately 100 cases of alleged criminal activity 

18 have been forwarded to the Public Ministry for pros19 ecution. Few of those are being prosecuted. The ac20 tions and results of the police cleanup commission 

21 have not been independently verified, moreover, and 

22 its directors include Julian Pacheco Tinoco, the Min23 ister of Security, named as a drug trafficker, and 

24 Vilma Morales, one of the top two negotiators for 


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1 the leader of the 2009 coup. Long-lasting, funda2 mental reform of the police still needs to be enacted. 

3 (8) Evidence indicates that topmost officials in 

4 charge of the police have been allegedly involved in 

5 drug trafficking. The National Director of the Police 

6 and his top two lieutenants have been documented 

7 by the Associated Press to have previously partici8 pated in cocaine trafficking. Julian Pacheco Tinoco, 

9 the Minister of Security, reappointed in December 

10 2018, has been twice named in United States Fed11 eral court as overseeing drug trafficking. 

12 (9) Rights Action has documented that the Fif13 teenth Battalion of the Honduran Armed Forces al14 legedly participated with police and private security 

15 forces in some of the killings of over 100 small-farm16 er activists in the Agua ́n Valley beginning in 2010. 

17 In 2015, Human Rights Watch confirmed that the 

18 killings of Agua ́n farmers were met with no con19 sequences. To date there has been one confirmed 

20 conviction of a private security guard. Assassinations 

21 of key activists continue. In October 2016, Jose ́

22 Angel Flores, the president of the Unified 

23 Campesino Movement of the Agua ́n (MUCA), and 

24 Silmer Dionisio George, another MUCA member, 

25 were assassinated, with impunity. 


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1 (10) Further examples abound of human rights 

2 abuses by the military: in July 2013 members of the 

3 Armed Forces shot and killed Toma ́s Garcı ́a, a 

4 Lenca Indigenous activist, and injured his son while 

5 they were peacefully protesting a dam project; in 

6 May 2014, nine members of the Ninth Infantry re7 portedly tortured and killed Amado Maradiaga 

8 Quiroz and tortured his son, Milton Noe Maradiaga 

9 Varela. The cases remain in impunity. In an em10 blematic case, on December 27, 2015, the Honduran 

11 Navy reportedly killed Joel Palacios Lino and Elvis 

12 Armando Garcı ́a, two Garı ́funa Afro-Indigenous men 

13 who were engaged in digging a car out of the sand 

14 on a beach. Ten members of the Honduran military 

15 were convicted of the killing of these 2 men, under16 scoring that egregious human rights are committed 

17 by state security forces. 

18 (11) The current Government of Honduras has 

19 expanded the military’s reach into domestic policing, 

20 including the creation of a 4,300-member Military 

21 Police in clear violation of the Honduran constitu22 tion and with disastrous results, including the 

23 killings of a 15-year-old boy, Ebed Yanes, in 2012 

24 and a student, Erlin Misael Carı ́as Moncada, in 

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1 points, and the January 2, 2017, killing of 17-year2 old Edgardo Moreno Rodriquez. While one member 

3 of the armed forces was convicted and sentenced in 

4 the case of Yanes, the case of the United States5 trained colonel who allegedly subsequently ordered a 

6 cover-up remains in impunity. Since the creation of 

7 the Military Police, ‘‘allegations of human rights 

8 abuses by the military have increased notably’’, re9 ports Human Rights Watch. The Military Police 

10 now count 9 battalions and plan 2 additional battal11 ions. 

12 (12) During the crisis that erupted following 

13 the highly contested November 2017 Presidential 

14 election, massive protests against electoral fraud and 

15 the disputed re-election campaign of President Juan 

16 Orlando Herna ́ndez emerged throughout the coun17 try. The United Nations and the Committee of Fam18 ilies of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras 

19 (COFADEH) have documented that in response, 

20 Honduran state security forces killed at least 16 

21 people, many of them protesters and bystanders; one 

22 additional person remains forcibly disappeared by 

23 state security forces. The great majority of the vic24 tims, according to the UN and COFADEH reports, 

25 were killed by the Military Police. All these cases reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1945.IH H1945

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1 main in impunity. In addition, 3 people accused of 

2 crimes while protesting remain in prison awaiting 

3 trial under dire, life-threatening conditions and a 

4 fourth remains in exile. 

5 (13) The Military Police continue to commit se6 rious human rights abuses. On November 30, 2017, 

7 Daniel Isaac Varela, age 12, was wounded by mem8 bers of the military police in Comayagu ̈ela during a 

9 post-election demonstration while he was purchasing 

10 candy with friends and the military opened fire. On 

11 December 3, 2017, Manuel de Jesu ́s Bautista Sal12 vador disappeared while held in detention by the 

13 Military Police in Cofradı ́a, Corte ́s, and his where14 abouts remain unknown. 

15 (14) The Honduran judicial system has been 

16 widely documented to be rife with corruption. 

17 Judges, prosecutors, and other officials are inter18 connected with organized crime and drug traffickers, 

19 contributing to near-complete impunity. 

20 (15) The Department of State in its 2018 

21 Human Rights Report for Honduras reports that 

22 ‘‘Corruption and impunity remained serious prob23 lems within the security forces.’’. It noted that ‘‘Im24 punity existed in many cases . . . as evidenced by 

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1 petrators, and failures to prosecute intellectual au2 thors of crimes.’’. 

3 (16) Overall, the judicial system remains inef4 fective and corrupt. The Department of State re5 ported for 2017 that it was ‘‘often ineffective, and 

6 subject to intimidation, corruption, politicization and 

7 patronage . . . Powerful special interests, including 

8 organized crime groups, exercised influence on the 

9 outcome of some court proceedings.’’. 

10 (17) Summarizing the situation, Human Rights 

11 Watch reported for 2018 that ‘‘Judges face inter12 ference from the executive branch and others, in13 cluding private actors with connections in govern14 ment.’’. It concludes: ‘‘Efforts to reform the institu15 tions responsible for providing public security have 

16 made little progress. Married by corruption and 

17 abuse, the judiciary and police remain largely inef18 fective.’’. 

19 (18) The March 2, 2016, assassination of 

20 prominent Lenca Indigenous and environmental ac21 tivist Berta Ca ́ceres, world-renowned recipient of the 

22 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her work 

23 defending Indigenous land rights against a hydro24 electric dam project, illustrates the human rights cri25 sis in Honduras, and the deep complicity of the 


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1 Honduran government. Ca ́ceres, the leader of 

2 COPINH, the Council of Indigenous and Popular 

3 Organizations of Honduras, had reported to authori4 ties 33 threats previous to her killing, but none had 

5 been investigated, and the government had failed to 

6 provide adequate protection measures as mandated 

7 by the Inter-American Commission on Human 

8 Rights, with protection by Honduran security being 

9 withdrawn the day of her death. 

10 (19) As of November 2018, seven men have 

11 been convicted in the killing of Ca ́ceres. One of them 

12 was an active duty officer in the military at the time 

13 of his arrest and two others are former military. A 

14 third former officer and the president of the DESA 

15 Corporation, the dam construction company, has 

16 been charged and is awaiting trial. The convictions 

17 raise serious questions about the role of the Hon18 duran military in her assassination, including the 

19 higher chain of command within the military as well 

20 as the identity of the intellectual authors of the as21 sassination. Evidence in the documents in the case 

22 file indicate that members of the Honduran elite 

23 were responsible for ordering Ca ́ceres’s assassina24 tion, and remain in impunity. Evidence also indi25 cates possible involvement of individuals of higher 


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1 rank in the military, but there is no indication that 

2 prosecutors are investigating these individuals. 

3 (20) The Government of Honduras continues to 

4 unduly limit legally mandated access by Ms. 

5 Ca ́ceres’s family to participation in the prosecution 

6 as permitted under Honduran law. 

7 (21) In this context of corruption and human 

8 rights abuses, trade unionists, journalists, lawyers, 

9 Afro-Indigenous activists, Indigenous activists, 

10 small-farmer activists, LGBTI activists, human 

11 rights defenders, and critics of the government re12 main at severe risk; and previous human rights 

13 abuses against them remain largely unpunished. 

14 (22) Journalists continue to be attacked with 

15 impunity. On May 2, 2016, prominent opposition 

16 journalist Fe ́lix Molina was shot multiple times in 

17 the legs hours after he had posted information po18 tentially linking Ca ́ceres’s killing to a top govern19 ment official, members of an elite family, and one of 

20 the prosecutors in the case. Those who report on 

21 protests against the government are threatened and 

22 attacked by state security forces. On November 26, 

23 2018, journalist Geovanny Sierra from the UNETV 

24 opposition television station was in the process of re25 porting on the repression by security forces of a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:17 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1945.IH H1945

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1 test marking the one-year anniversary of the dis2 puted 2017 elections when he was fired upon by 

3 members of the police assigned to the National Peni4 tentiary. He survived the attack but suffered exten5 sive injuries to his right arm. Both cases remain in 

6 impunity. 

7 (23) United States agencies allocated approxi8 mately $39 million that Congress appropriated 

9 through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, 

10 to the Honduran police and military for fiscal year 

11 2017. 

12 (24) The Inter-American Development Bank 

13 lent $60,000,000 to the Honduran police between 

14 2012 and 2018, with United States approval. 

15 SEC. 3. SUSPENSION AND RESTRICTIONS OF SECURITY AS16 SISTANCE EXTENDED TO REPUBLIC OF HON17 DURAS UNLESS CERTAIN CONDITIONS HAVE 

18 BEEN MET. 

19 (a) SUSPENSION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—No 

20 funds may be made available to provide assistance for the 

21 police or military of the Republic of Honduras, including 

22 assistance for equipment and training. 

23 (b) LOANS FROM MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT

24 BANKS.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct 

25 United States representatives at multilateral development 


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1 banks to vote no on any loans for the police or military 

2 of the Republic of Honduras. 

3 SEC. 4. CONDITIONS FOR LIFTING SUSPENSIONS AND RE4 STRICTIONS. 

5 The provisions of this Act shall terminate on the date 

6 on which the Secretary of State determines and certifies 

7 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

9 the Senate that the Government of Honduras has— 

10 (1) pursued all legal avenues to bring to trial 

11 and obtain a verdict of all those who ordered and 

12 carried out— 

13 (A) the March 2, 2016, murder of Berta 

14 Ca ́ceres; 

15 (B) the killings of over 100 small-farmer 

16 activists in the Agua ́n Valley; 

17 (C) the killings of 22 people and forced 

18 disappearance of 1 person by state security 

19 forces in the context of the 2017 postelectoral 

20 crisis; and 

21 (D) the May 3, 2016, armed attack on 

22 Fe ́lix Molina, and the November 26, 2018, 

23 shooting of Geovanny Sierra. 

24 (2) investigated and successfully prosecuted 

25 members of military and police forces who are 


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1 credibly found to have violated human rights, and 

2 ensured that the military and police cooperated in 

3 such cases, and that such violations have ceased; 

4 (3) withdrawn the military from domestic polic5 ing, in accordance with the Honduran Constitution, 

6 and ensured that all domestic police functions are 

7 separated from the command and control of the 

8 Armed Forces of Honduras and are instead directly 

9 responsible to civilian authority; 

10 (4) established that it protects effectively the 

11 rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights 

12 defenders, the Indigenous, the Afro-Indigenous, 

13 small-farmers, LGBTI activists, critics of the gov14 ernment, and other civil society activists to operate 

15 without interference; and 

16 (5) taken effective steps to fully establish the 

17 rule of law and to guarantee a judicial system that 

18 is capable of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing 

19 to justice members of the police and military who 

20 have committed human rights abuses. 

Æ 


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