00:00Casa Alianza, an organization specialized in the rights of street children with over 40 years of presence in Honduras,
00:07presented its biannual report noting an increase in violent deaths among minors and a recruitment drive by organized crime.
00:15Gerardo Torres Zelaya reports from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
00:20It may be intensifying its recruitment of street children into criminal structures.
00:25According to a report by Casa Alianza, which also highlights a rise in violent deaths among minors.
00:35Currently, we would say that the most serious situation we are seeing with street children is forced recruitment.
00:45Both boys and girls, because this is widespread, are falling victim to forced recruitment.
00:55Organized crime is looking for ways to recruit younger children, infants or adolescents,
01:03to be part of these structures so they can use them as banners or mules,
01:10or to be part of this whole system, this entire mechanism.
01:15A bandera is a soldier who keeps watch over the territory,
01:19while a mulita is someone tasked with transporting drugs.
01:22Recruitment can also be for roles such as hitmen or extortion collectors.
01:27For women and girls, the situation is even more dangerous.
01:34We're seeing the deaths of girls, adolescents, and women, right?
01:43They, too, are falling victim or are being targeted for kidnapping or capture
01:48to be part of these criminal structures as partners for gang leaders.
01:56And ultimately, if they refuse, they lose their lives.
02:02And that's where we find many young women who have been victims of these kinds of situations
02:07due to organized crime.
02:09All metrics confirm that violence and insecurity are rising rapidly across the country.
02:15Criminal structures are gaining strength,
02:18while security agencies appear to have lost their capacity to respond,
02:22or perhaps the will to do their jobs.
02:26Criminal structures, whether organized crime, drug trafficking, or gangs,
02:32have become increasingly entrenched in Honduras.
02:35In the first six months of 2026 alone,
02:39320 adolescents and young people have lost their lives.
02:45Comparing this period to the first six months of 2025,
02:49we see a 15 percent increase,
02:53representing 48 more violent deaths than last year.
02:56Miners in Honduras are suffering the consequences of this new reality.
03:00In the first six months of this government,
03:02there has been a 50 percent increase in violent assassinations of boys and girls.
03:07Also, there's a new dynamic of criminal groups
03:10in which they're strengthening by recruiting minors
03:13to be part of their violent structures.
03:15From Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for Telesur and English,
03:18Gerardo Torres Zelaya.
03:19So we'll see you next time in the next Nick withиля work.
03:19Thank you so much for coming.
03:19My�ות 500
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