What is going on?

What is going on here in Honduras?

Honestly, I am at a loss to understand or explain. So here are a few thoughts and questions.

I am reluctant to write about this because I don't have enough reliable information. But I want to share my doubts and questions.

COVID-19 continues to devastate the country.

There are dire reports that the public health system – already devastated by corruption, lack of supplies, and more – is near collapse. What that will mean I don’t know, but it could be catastrophic.

The Honduran president ,Juan Orlando Hernández, and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19, but many people don’t believe the reports. Reportedly the president was admitted to the well-equipped Military Hospital on Wednesday. Many believe he has faked it – for whatever reason. There are even memes with two photos – one of him being tested, the second of his announcement; he has not facial hair in the first, but has substantial facial hair on the second. I have no idea what is up; the test may have been a week ago and so the facial hair is just normal for one who hasn’t shaved.

This past week it was made known that the court of the Southern District of New York would be dealing with two Guatemalans whose testimony could further implicate the role of the president of Honduras in drug trafficking. As Insight Crime reports,

"The two cousins, Otto and Ronald Salguero, turned themselves in to US authorities and are set to appear before a court in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), according to a report by Univisión. Last December, the US Justice Department charged the two men with being part of a drug trafficking ring in Honduras and Guatemala led by Tony Hernández, the brother of current Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández. “These defendants conspired with the corrupt Honduran officials they bribed to facilitate the importation into the US of large quantities of cocaine for the Sinaloa Cartel,” wrote US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in the indictment. A witness in the case against Tony Hernández told US prosecutors that the Salguero cousins were present at a meeting where Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo” and the former leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, gave Hernández $1 million to finance the presidential campaign of his brother Juan Orlando in 2013."

If the name Geoffrey Berman sounds familiar, he’s the US attorney who Trump is possibly firing, since he won't resign. Berman has been involved in investigating various practices of persons allied with the US president as well as in the case against the Honduran president’s brother for drug trafficking. Is there any connection?

Also, is there any connection between the announcement of the positive tests of Juan Orlando Hernández and the allegations coming from the NY Southern District?

I have no idea – but I think many people here are skeptical. But I don’t want to make any accusations, especially since I don't have complete information.

As I see it, what is clear is that there is not much confidence in the Honduran government. It continues to have the support of the Trump administration, but what about the Honduran people?

There are many more questions about what is happening here. Most interesting is that the Honduran administration keeps pushing two treatments of COVID-19, which were developed by Honduran doctors (one who is in the US) but do not seem to have had careful scientific testing. One includes the use of hidroxicloroquine which may have disastrous results for people with heart problems. (I don’t want them to use it on me.)

There are more questions than answers.

But there are also serious problems. Although the government has set fines for non-use of masks, there are many people who do not use them, even in Dulce Nombre. Some people complain about them being hot; some see them as a sign of fear and weakness; others see them as unnecessary since there have been very few cases of COVID-19 around here.

But, this week the country began a series of steps to re-open the economy of the country in stages related to the situation of various municipalities based on several factors (density of population, number of cases, and medical capacity.) Yet, I just saw a notice that these steps will not continue in the Tegucigalpa area, due to more outbreaks of the virus.

Pray for us.

If I get reliable information, I’ll pass it on. If you see anything wrong in this blog post, let me know so that I can correct it.

It’s confusing.

But the rains have begun, in force, and I’ve been able to rejoice in some beautiful views.