Security & Strategic Review - September 2023

In July a delegation of experts appointed by the United Nations (UN) arrived in Tegucigalpa to begin analysing the creation of a new international commission against corruption and impunity in Honduras (CICIH). CICIH’s establishment was a major electoral pledge by President Xiomara Castro who took office in January 2022. While in December 2022 the Castro government and UN inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding CICIH’s installation, frustration persists regarding the lack of progress on the issue. Meanwhile a report released in May by anti-corruption NGO Consejo Nacional Anticorrupción (CNA), accusing the government of nepotism, and the brief departure of CNA’s director Gabriela Castellanos who cited threats, have provided an uncomfortable backdrop for discussions regarding the CICIH’s establishment.