Battleground Honduras: Honduran Drug Gang violence investigated on 'CCTV America' Magazine Program

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Given its population (a little more than 8 million), Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world.  The nation's coast provides a key cocaine smuggling route linking drug cartels to the United States.

This week the CCTV America television magazine program AMERICAS NOW provides a rare, in depth, look at violence in Honduras and the gangs behind it.  Correspondent John Holman starts in the hospital emergency room of San Pedro Sula where a thirteen year old boy has been shot in the face.  On an Army patrol, he discovers how intractable the violence is and how it has torn apart the fabric of Honduran communities. 

Holman then profiles two rival street gangs – the Maras 13 and 18.  Deported from Los Angeles in the 1990's, the brutal gangs run an extensive extortion racket.  Those who don't pay are killed.  Correspondent Holman ventures into a maximum security prison to interview 'Marcos,' a Maras 13 leader.  Gang leaders like Marcos say they are willing to agree to a 'ceasefire.'  They claim they want to reach a 'peace deal' with the government in exchange for 'job opportunities.'  The government, understandably, is dubious.  In any event, Julio Raudales, the Honduran Minister of Planning tells AMERICAS NOW, that the government has nothing to offer that could entice gang members to give up lives of crime.  The country is too poor, the drug trade too embedded, the violence too entrenched.  Since gang leaders offered their 'ceasefire' in May 2013, hundreds more innocent Hondurans have died.

CCTV America's AMERICAS NOW is seen on the CCTV News channel at 8:30 pm US Eastern Time Sunday August 4^th. Watch on MHZ 3 or Comcast 273 in the Washington DC area.  Time Warner 134 in New York, 155 in Los Angeles. Nationally on the Dish Network channels 265 and 279. Check local listings for channels in your area. 

SOURCE CCTV America