Coinciding with the UNGASS 2016, to be held in New York, is the final fine-tuning of the draft of the new Honduran Criminal Code. The bill includes criminal types related to drug trafficking, proposing penalties substantially lower according to the seriousness of the acts, the personal circumstances of the author, the amount of drugs subject of crime and, the class of drugs in relation to the damage caused to health. The proposal for this new classification shows a substantial change in the repressive State policies, considering that, as is the case in other countries in the region, criminal law in this type of behaviour has had major successes with respect to individuals whose participation is at lower levels but, with few exceptions, has not been effective respect to those who head the organisations. Furthermore, Honduras has made progress by passing a special legislation that allows, within a defined persecution policy, direct actions on what represents the greatest threat to the integrity of the State. Read Paper
Soraya Carolina Cálix is the Director at the Direction of Fight Against Drug Trafficking, Public Prosecutor's Office, Honduras, Central America.
This paper was prepared for the EU‑LAC Foundation’s Newsletter of March 2016 on the theme “The World Drug Problem”.