Honduran police purification commission removes 106 officers in two months (June 10, 2016)

The Special Commission for the Re-Structuring and Transformation of the National Police in Honduras has removed 106 police officials since it began work April 12, El Tiempo reports. The dismissed officers, who represent 40% of 272 individuals evaluated, include five generals, 27 commissioners, 36 sub-commissionars, and 38 inspectors, according to the Asociación para Una Sociedad Más Justa.

The commission was appointed by President Juan Orlando Hernandez in early April in response to a release of documents by Honduran newspaper El Heraldo and later the New York Times, documents that suggested high-level police officers were behind the 2009 assassinations of two top anti-drug officials. According to the recently-formed commission, between 2012 and 2015 at least 222 million lempiras ($9.8 million) was designated for same purpose -- purifying the police force -- but the money disappeared and no serious effort was made to clean up the police, El Heraldo reports.

The United States Embassy has expressed its support for the new effort, providing a list of police officers being investigated by the U.S. for organized crime and narco-trafficking, reports El Heraldo in a separate article. Last week the commission announced the removal of thirty-some sub-commissioners; it is currently evaluating another 158 officers of the same rank. On Monday the commission launched a digital platform called "Honduras Denuncia," where citizens can anonymously denounce members of the police, La Tribuna reports. Commission member Omar Rivera stressed that all police officers can be denounced, including those who recently passed the purification process and were "re-ratified" as officers.  

While the commission has received messages of support from human rights groups and civil society, its members have also faced threats since beginning work two months ago, according to El Proceso.The Alianza por la Paz y la Justicia. Transparencia Internacional, the US Embassy, and the European Union have denounced the threats reported by members of the commission, according to Asociación para una Sociedad Mas Justa.  

News Briefs

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• Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff is joining calls for a national referendum on whether to hold early elections if she survives impeachment, Reuters reports. Analysts say Rousseff is seeking to convince undecided senators not to vote for her ouster. At a time in which politicians across the spectrum have lost legitimacy, the proposal for early elections could be a way out of Brazil's political crisis, the article reports.

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• The Wall Street Journal has a hilarious feature on the Brazilian ice hockey team, formed in 2014 without sponsors, a home rink, or any ice-skating experience. The novices are nonetheless competing in the Pan-American Hockey Tournament in Mexico City. "They all really struggle," said their American coach. "Turning left, turning right. And stopping is obviously the biggest thing."