3 Political Activists Killed Within 24 Hours in Honduras

By teleSUR

23 November 17

Violence in Honduras is surging as general elections are just days away.

wo more activists have been killed in Honduras as the country strengthens security protocol ahead of general elections on Nov. 26.

On Wednesday morning, Opposition Alliance activist Jose Mario Discua Henriquez was murdered in Comayagua, located in the center of the country.

His body was found with blunt blows to the head, according to preliminary reports, which were presumably the cause of his death. His body was transferred to a morgue in Tegucigalpa to determine the cause of death.

On Tuesday, political activist and professor Jose Gonzalo Castillo Chavez was assassinated in the city of La Paz. Castillo was a member of the Libre Party and a former candidate for mayor. He was shot inside of his house by unknown suspects, whom authorities have not yet identified.  

"Chalo," as his relatives knew him, was also wounded with a knife and transferred to the Roberto Suazo Cordoba hospital, where he died.

Also on Tuesday, 33-year-old Ilsia Raquel Portillo, a member of the Liberal Party of Honduras, was murdered as she was returning home from a political rally in La Ceiba.

In preparation for the elections, security forces have been deployed throughout the country and a ban on the use of firearms has been issued.

On Nov. 7, National Party activist Mario Reinieri Gonzales was murdered by unknown persons in his house in front of his two sons. A note was left saying "this is an example for those who support JOH (Juan Orlando Hernandez)."