2011.12.21: December 21, 2011: The increasing drug and organized-crime violence in Central America has led the Peace Corps to pull out of Honduras and stop sending new volunteers to Guatemala and El Salvador
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2011.12.21: December 21, 2011: The increasing drug and organized-crime violence in Central America has led the Peace Corps to pull out of Honduras and stop sending new volunteers to Guatemala and El Salvador
The increasing drug and organized-crime violence in Central America has led the Peace Corps to pull out of Honduras and stop sending new volunteers to Guatemala and El Salvador
Kristina Edmunson, a Peace Corps spokeswoman in Washington, said the moves stemmed from "comprehensive safety and security concerns" rather than any specific threat or incident. However, Peace Corps Journals, an online portal for blogs by Peace Corps volunteers, has an entry referring to a volunteer's being shot in an armed robbery.
The increasing drug and organized-crime violence in Central America has led the Peace Corps to pull out of Honduras and stop sending new volunteers to Guatemala and El Salvador
Peace Corps to Scale Back in Central America
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
Published: December 21, 2011
Caption: One person was killed and three were injured including Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Robert, 27, in an attack on a bus on the transportation route from San Pedro Sula to La Esperanza, Intibucá on December 4, 2011. The Peace Corps Volunteer was shot in the right leg and was taken to recover in a private clinic in San Pedro Sula and later back to the US. Honduras suffers the world's highest murder rate - 82 killings per 100,000 people a year. The army is currently taking on policing duties in response to a wave of violence. All 158 currently serving volunteers are safe and accounted for and will participate in a conference in January before returning to the United States on administrative leave. Peace Corps announced on December 21, 2011 that the agency will review the safety and security climate in Honduras before continuing with volunteer operations.
MEXICO CITY - The increasing drug and organized-crime violence in Central America has led the Peace Corps to pull out of Honduras and stop sending new volunteers to Guatemala and El Salvador, the organization announced Wednesday.
Peace Corps officials said they had taken stock of the worsening conditions and decided to withdraw their 158 volunteers from Honduras in January and scuttle plans to send 29 recruits to complete their training.
"We are going to conduct a full review of the program," Aaron S. Williams, the director of the Peace Corps, said in a statement.
In Guatemala and El Salvador, officials decided to keep the 335 volunteers already in those countries but not to send the 76 recruits who were to begin training there next month. The trainees will be sent to other countries, the corps said.
Kristina Edmunson, a Peace Corps spokeswoman in Washington, said the moves stemmed from "comprehensive safety and security concerns" rather than any specific threat or incident. However, Peace Corps Journals, an online portal for blogs by Peace Corps volunteers, has an entry referring to a volunteer's being shot in an armed robbery.
There was no immediate reaction from the governments.
All three countries have endured a rash of violence primarily related to drug traffickers using Central America as a staging point to ship cocaine to the United States from South America.
A wave of violence has struck particularly hard in Honduras, whose institutions are still recovering from a coup in 2009.
It has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world - the highest by some measures - and this month, Alfredo Landaverde, the country's former antidrug and security adviser who often denounced corruption, was shot to death.
Ms. Edmunson said that from time to time, the corps withdraws or restricts work in the 75 countries in which it has volunteers.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: December, 2011; Peace Corps Honduras; Directory of Honduras RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Honduras RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Evacuation; Peace Corps Guatemala; Directory of Guatemala RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Guatemala RPCVs; Peace Corps El Salvador; Directory of El Salvador RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for El Salvador RPCVs
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Story Source: NY Times
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Honduras; Safety; Evacuation; COS - Guatemala; COS - El Salvador
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