The New York Times Publishes ASJ Letter To Editor

April 20, 2016

Today, The New York Times published a letter to the editor from ASJ (formerly known as AJS-Honduras) President Carlos Hernandez. Below is the text of the letter, which can also be read on the Times’ website.

Fighting corruption in Honduras

Re “An anti-corruption charade in Honduras” (Opinion, Feb. 16): Alexander Main made valid points but neglected to mention important advancements in the fight against corruption by Honduran nongovernmental organizations — advancements that make the success of the initiative by the Organization of American States much more likely.

I lead the Association for a More Just Society, the Honduran chapter of the nonprofit organization Transparency International. In the last two years, our work has resulted in the arrest of 95 individuals involved in major corruption cases. The reforms we’ve pushed for against corruption in public education have nearly doubled the number of days students spend in class. At least 29 major drug traffickers have been arrested, contributing to a 23 percent drop in homicide rates. My country is no longer the most violent in the world.

The O.A.S. initiative offers no silver bullets, but with oversight and support, it presents an opportunity to strengthen our government systems. We have hope that anti-corruption efforts will make a difference — because ours already have.

Carlos Hernández Tegucigalpa, Honduras

The letter was published in response to an opinion piece run by The New York Times that was critical of anti-corruption reform efforts in Honduras. While points in the opinion piece were accurate, the picture it painted was incomplete.

Corruption does continue to occur in the highest levels of the Honduran government. But these injustices have mobilized Honduran civil society around high-level reforms that have led to dramatic advances in the government and justice system. Just one example: in the past two years, the Attorney General’s office has earned 50 guilty verdicts in corruption cases – more than the previous 19 years put together.

The article was pessimistic of a new international anti-corruption force in Honduras organized by the Organization of American States (OAS). The effort, called the Support Mission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH, by its Spanish initials), is not a certain success. But it is a certain opportunity to fundamentally shift the cycle of corruption, impunity, and violence in Honduras.

Ultimately, such a shift must be led not by groups like the OAS, the UN, or any foreign country — but by Honduran citizens and civil society, including groups like ASJ. The OAS’s new effort in Honduras has its flaws, but serious corruption fighters view its arrival as an opportunity for progress before pessimism.

The original opinion piece in The New York Times stated, “Congressional oversight may be the only guarantee that due diligence is done” — a quote that is only partly right. It overlooks the important role that civil society organizations play in Honduras; organizations like ASJ are committed to just such oversight and we are already seeing a difference.

Hondurans are already pressuring their government from within, and what’s direly needed is a sustainably equipped criminal justice system in Honduras.

The fight against corruption is costly, and it has claimed the lives of brave individuals, including from ASJ — but we will continue the fight with tenacity and hope.

Whoever wants to join us, including the OAS, is welcomed to do so.

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ASJ-US and ASJ-Canada Joint Statement on Honduran Elections

December 2, 2025

ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US

Artisans of Fraternity, Guardians of Hope

November 28, 2025

A call to action for Honduras

November 2025 ASJ-US Statement about Honduran Elections

By Elizabeth Hickel • November 25, 2025

The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025

Context Updates on the 2025 Elections in Honduras

November 13, 2025

Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections

HOPE

By Elizabeth Hickel • November 12, 2025

Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.