Honduras Remembers Garifuna Men Disappeared 100 Days Ago

[Judi Lynn]

A group of young people paint a banner reading "Garifuna lives also matter" during a sit-in
in Tegucigalpa, Honduras' Central Plaza on Friday, September 4, 2020.
| Photo: FE/Gustavo Amador

Published 26 October 2020 (12 hours 2 minutes ago)

Ofraneh, a Honduran Afro-Indigenous advocacy organization, reported that four young people have been missing for three months.

The coordinator of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (Ofraneh), Miriam Miranda, denounced that this Monday is the 100th day since the disappearance of four young Garifunas from the community of El Triunfo de la Cruz, located 220 kilometers north of Tegucigalpa, the country's capital.

The forced disappearance of young people Milton Joel Martínez, Suami Aparicio, Alber Santana, and Snider Centeno occurred on July 18, when they were taken from their respective homes by armed men dressed in police clothing.

Since then, Ofraneh has denounced the lack of willingness on the authorities to find out the youths' whereabouts and clarify the facts. Likewise, last August, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) demanded that the Honduran state "adopt all appropriate measures to effectively protect the rights to life and personal integrity" of the disappeared youths.

In the same vein, Jesuit priest Ismael Moreno, known as Father Melo, stated that he holds the Honduran state authorities directly responsible for the disappearance of the Garifuna community's four members.

More:
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Honduras-Remembers-Garifuna-Men-Disappeared-100-Days-Ago-20201026-0028.html