State Department warns travelers about dangers of visiting Honduras
State Department warns travelers about dangers of visiting Honduras
By Paul Richter
December 24, 2013, 11:32 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- The State Department on Tuesday cautioned travelers about the risks of visiting Honduras, known as the “murder capital of the world,” saying that killings of Americans are frequent and almost never solved.
In a travel warning, the department said American expatriates experience similar levels of crime as other population groups. Police forces are unable to keep up and have solved only two of the 50 killings of Americans since 2008, U.S. officials said.
Honduras has had the highest murder rate in the world since 2010, and levels of violence and crime remain "critically high," the warning said.
Though the Honduran government is trying to improve the criminal justice system, the effort remains at an early stage. Drug cartels operate freely, U.S. officials said, but there are also other groups that commit crimes such as killings, kidnappings, extortion, carjackings, armed robberies, rapes and other aggravated assaults.
More:
http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-us-travel-warning-honduras-crime-20131224,0,6904220.story#ixzz2oYULUAO3