Gang Violence Kills at Least 25 in Honduras, Including Six Police Officers

Gunmen killed at least 25 people, including six police officers, in a series of attacks across Honduras on Thursday.

The attacks marked Thursday as one of the most violent days the country has seen in recent years.

The violence occurred despite the government’s ongoing efforts to curb organized crime and violence.

Gunmen raided a palm plantation in the northern municipality of Trujillo, killing 19 people.

A leader of a rural group told AFP that the victims were employees of an armed group controlling the plantation.

Local media reported that the attackers fired indiscriminately on laborers and that the oldest victim was 61.

Photos showed bodies, some wearing thick rubber boots for work, strewn on the ground outside.

In a separate attack in the western municipality of Omoa near the Guatemalan border, gunmen killed six police officers.

The officers were traveling as part of an operation against gang activity when they were ambushed, police said.

After the two attacks, the National Police issued a statement, saying it “will proceed immediately with a direct intervention in the affected areas”.

“The state will act firmly to capture those responsible, protect vulnerable communities and guarantee comprehensive justice for all affected victims,” it added.

Honduras has been struggling to curb gang violence. Until January, large parts of the country were under a state of emergency introduced in 2022.

That emergency decree ended with the inauguration of right-wing President Nasry “Tito” Asfura, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has prioritized a hardline security approach in Latin America.

The attacks are likely to raise concerns about security as well as civil liberties.

Earlier this week, lawmakers passed legislation allowing authorities to designate gangs and drug cartels as terrorist groups. The government also created a new anti-organized crime unit.

The Trujillo shooting took place near the Aguan River Valley, where armed groups involved in drug trafficking and palm oil extraction have been fighting over land for decades.

Trujillo police chief Carlos Rojas told local media that the groups occupy and illegally exploit several large African palm plantations, using money from the crops to obtain weapons.

Local farmer groups, however, accuse transnational agribusiness corporations of sponsoring the criminal groups to carry out land occupations and prevent residents from reclaiming disputed lands.

According to Reuters, more than 150 people in the area have been killed or disappeared, with environmental and land rights activists a particular target.

Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries for such activists. Earlier this month, police arrested several people, including a mayor, in connection with a plot to assassinate a prominent environmental campaigner in 2024.