The spreading drug-fueled violence in Honduras – arguably the most troubled country in the Western Hemisphere – should be addressed through effective civilian law enforcement institutions, not military forces. Strengthening such institutions should be the principal focus of U.S. policy and cooperation with Honduras and other nations beset by criminal violence.

The problem, however, is that building professional police forces is a difficult, long-term task, and countries like Honduras, with the world’s highest level of homicides, can hardly afford to wait. There is, understandably, enormous public pressure to call on the military to help contain the violence.
Policy options are not good, but in today’s Honduras a government of any stripe would turn to the military to fight drug violence.

There are considerable risks associated with building up militaries in countries like Honduras, with precarious governance and a history of rights abuses. But such risks have to be weighed against the risks of the current, deteriorating situation, which has taken a tremendous human toll and poses a serious threat to the rule of law.

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