{"code":"26468","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"1082","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202211\/centroamerica\/26468","link_edit":"","name":"Under Xiomara Castro, Honduran Garifunas Receive JOH-Style Military Eviction","slug":"under-xiomara-castro-honduran-garifunas-receive-joh-style-military-eviction","info":"Honduras, in Brief: On November 7, the Police and Army violently evicted the Garifuna community in Punta Gorda, Roat\u00e1n, defying ancestral land rights promised by Honduran law since 1995. It\u2019s the first removal of a Garifuna community under President Xiomara Castro. Subscribe to our newsletter","mtag":"Newsletter","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"1082","pict":{"cms-image-000037808-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"37808","name":"cms-image-000037808.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037808.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037808.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037808-jpg","text":"<p>Divers scour the nine miles of ocean separating Cayo Chachahuate from the mainland village Nueva Armenia for lobsters, a key economic boon for local Garifuna communities. They often work at night, when the crustaceans are most active and they can avoid the Coast Guard. The cays also offer refuge for fishermen when storms roll in. Cayo Bola\u00f1o is the most popular spot for resting and taking shelter, but harassment from the military often prevents fishermen from landing there.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EDivers scour the nine miles of ocean separating Cayo Chachahuate from the mainland village Nueva Armenia for lobsters, a key economic boon for local Garifuna communities. They often work at night, when the crustaceans are most active and they can avoid the Coast Guard. The cays also offer refuge for fishermen when storms roll in. Cayo Bola\u00f1o is the most popular spot for resting and taking shelter, but harassment from the military often prevents fishermen from landing there.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038188-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38188","name":"cms-image-000038188.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038188.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038188.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038188-jpg","text":"<p>A Garifuna man holds his baby during a ceremony to commemorate 211 years since their arrival to Punta Gorda from St. Vincent on April 12 2008 in Roatan, department of Bahia Islands, Honduras. At the time, the Garifuna people were demanding productive projects from the government of then-head of state Manuel Zelaya, husband of current President Xiomara Castro, to contribute to the development of their community. Photo: Orlando Sierra\/AFP<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EA Garifuna man holds his baby during a ceremony to commemorate 211 years since their arrival to Punta Gorda from St. Vincent on April 12 2008 in Roatan, department of Bahia Islands, Honduras. At the time, the Garifuna people were demanding productive projects from the government of then-head of state Manuel Zelaya, husband of current President Xiomara Castro, to contribute to the development of their community. Photo: Orlando Sierra\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":37808,"date":{"live":"2022\/11\/16"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"11","data_post_dateLive_DD":"16","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn November 7, the Honduran military and police riot squads \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/baraudawaguchu\/status\/1589672969953239040?s=20&t=GpSYDrKq0fVkccn7KIBBkA\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eremoved\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E 110 Garifuna people from their homes in Punta Gorda, on the Caribbean island of Roat\u00e1n. A local judge had ordered their \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/proceso.hn\/juez-ejecutor-dice-se-ordeno-un-desalojo-preventivo-en-punta-gorda-basado-en-reformas-recientes-a-la-ley\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003E\u201cpreventive dislodging\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E within 24 hours from the commune \u2014founded by their ancestors in 1797\u003C\/strong\u003E, making it the Carib-Arawak people\u2019s oldest settlement in what is today Honduras\u2014 for alleged \u201cusurpation\u201d of private land.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPresent for the operation were the Honduran Army, National Police, Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office, and Police Investigations Directorate (DPI) \u2014 the same police unit that the Garifuna community in Triunfo de la Cruz, Atl\u00e1ntida, \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202007\/centroamerica\/24682\/After-Spate-of-Violence-Calls-for-International-Action-Echo-Across-Garifuna-Diaspora.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eaccused in June, 2020, of kidnapping five community leaders\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. They are still missing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EDuring the eviction, police arrested six people including \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/baraudawaguchu\/status\/1589720728337022978?s=20&t=fLbJHJw-PKefnmb72L6HOg\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EMelissa Mart\u00ednez\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a coordinator of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH). The organization asserts that they have been released but expects them to face court summons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cI truly believed that under the government of @XiomaraCastroZ this wouldn\u2019t happen,\u201d \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/baraudawaguchu\/status\/1589676479243489280?s=20&t=SFejHWRwoND0-j41AfKeCw\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ewrote\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E OFRANEH coordinator-general Miriam Miranda. \u201cFor the Honduran state, the Garifunas defending their territories are \u2018invaders,\u2019\u201d \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarlaZGarcia1\/status\/1589718547944480768\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ewrote\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Carla Garc\u00eda, international relations coordinator, \u201cwhereas foreigners are \u2018third parties of good faith.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe \u2018third party\u2019 refers to the requester of the eviction. Journalist C\u00e9lia Pousset, who reviewed the removal order and is investigating the case for independent Honduran outlet Contracorriente, told El Faro English that the \u003Cstrong\u003ENorman Jones family \u2014who \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/noticias247.hn\/video-terreno-de-punta-gorda-le-pertenece-a-una-familia-desde-1950-abogado-defensor\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eclaims\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E to own the land since 1950\u2014\u003C\/strong\u003E is the only one listed in the judicial dossier and that they filed the removal request on September 10.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EXiomara Castro campaigned on \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.libre.hn\/plan-de-gobierno-de-xiomara-2022-2026\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eextensive promises\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E to the country\u2019s 52 Garifuna communities, like the repeal of the 2013 ZEDE \u2014or charter cities\u2014 law, the installation of a Congress of Indigenous and Afro-Descendant Peoples, the striking-down of preventive dislodging from the Penal Code, and, like in Panama, \u201cthe creation of autonomous zones under their control.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFalse legal dilemma\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe ownership of the land settled by the Garifuna people 225 years ago in Punta Gorda is a legal question settled by Honduran law and by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHonduras\u2019 ratification in 1995 of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ilo.org\/dyn\/normlex\/en\/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:55:0::NO::P55_TYPE,P55_LANG,P55_DOCUMENT,P55_NODE:REV,en,C169,\/Document\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EILO Convention 169\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E granted Garifuna and Indigenous peoples the right to ancestral land, a historic debt of the state to these communities. In 2015, the \u003Cstrong\u003EInter-American Court issued unequivocal protections for Garifuna land\u003C\/strong\u003E and ordered the Honduran state to make reparations for dispossession and other violence. That has yet to happen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Garifuna people have property rights and dominion over the land and resources that we have ancestrally held,\u201d \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/baraudawaguchu\/status\/1590006659447128065?s=20&t=Ye90m-nzlMvMTwE7bZxztg\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ewrote\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E the Garifuna leaders in Punta Gorda. \u201cWe thus have the right to be juridically recognized as the legitimate owners of the territory, making any forced removal illegal and racist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\t\t\u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=\"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2212&ImageId=38188\" class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"A Garifuna man holds his baby during a ceremony to commemorate 211 years since their arrival to Punta Gorda from St. Vincent on April 12 2008 in Roatan, department of Bahia Islands, Honduras. At the time, the Garifuna people were demanding productive projects from the government of then-head of state Manuel Zelaya, husband of current President Xiomara Castro, to contribute to the development of their community. Photo: Orlando Sierra\/AFP\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"pict__line block edge--ss_lax edge--ss_rax padd--ss_l0x padd--ss_r0x line--ss_s0b lineh rule--ss_c\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"block-inline full-width align-middle lineh__rect tint-back--nake\"\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u00a0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003EA Garifuna man holds his baby during a ceremony to commemorate 211 years since their arrival to Punta Gorda from St. Vincent on April 12 2008 in Roatan, department of Bahia Islands, Honduras. At the time, the Garifuna people were demanding productive projects from the government of then-head of state Manuel Zelaya, husband of current President Xiomara Castro, to contribute to the development of their community. Photo: Orlando Sierra\/AFP\u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe day after the dislodging, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OACNUDHHN\/status\/1590110535470972928?s=20&t=tph3W0cdrMRLX0f3E2sMFg\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Econdemned the six arrests\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E for \u201cprohibiting access to ancestral land,\u201d arguing they were designed to \u201cdirectly affect the defense of land, territory, and the environment.\u201d U.N. resident coordinator in Honduras Alice Shackelford \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aliceshackel\/status\/1589899152607313920?s=20&t=kwVGp8210PR4wZtFMur24A\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ewrote\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u201cI join the urgent calls for liberation and the search for solutions that are peaceful and respectful of human rights.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHours after the removal, President Xiomara Castro reacted \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/XiomaraCastroZ\/status\/1589844109853806593?s=20&t=GrA9_UXua8_dgsk4wGeSaQ\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eover Twitter\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: \u201cI\u2019ve requested a report on the violent judicially ordered dislodgement. I was not informed in advance.\u201d There were two clear problems with her claim: OFRANEH had denounced the operation \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/baraudawaguchu\/status\/1589459268477952000?s=20&t=SFejHWRwoND0-j41AfKeCw\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ea day in advance\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and the secretary of defense is \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202207\/centroamerica\/26300\/Former-President-Manuel-Zelaya-Is-Back-on-Stage-in-Honduras.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ECastro\u2019s nephew\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThat Madam President says she didn\u2019t know about the removal is irrelevant. That\u2019s why she has her ministers to run day-to-day operations,\u201d Honduran human rights attorney Joaqu\u00edn Mej\u00eda told El Faro English. \u201cWhat is relevant is what the military was doing in a violent removal when she promised to reduce the militarization of citizen security.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe new owners of Roat\u00e1n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ECastro\u2019s assertion on Punta Gorda strains credulity given that land disputes in Roat\u00e1n were top-of-mind that week for Secretary of Economic Development Pedro Barquero.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EA few miles away from Punta Gorda on the island is the Economic Development and Employment Zone (\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elfaro.net\/es\/202108\/columnas\/25639\/Nobody-in-Honduras-Wants-%E2%80%9CModel-Cities%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%94-Except-the-President.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EZEDE\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E) Pr\u00f3spera, a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/restofworld.org\/2022\/crypto-libertarian-prospera-lost-legal-battle-honduras\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ebitcoin-using charter city\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E founded with Silicon Valley capital, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/prospera.hn\/news\/press-releases\/built-to-last-legal-stability-in-the-zede-framework\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Epromising\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u201ca rule of law oasis of economic freedom and legal stability.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPr\u00f3spera has had problems of its own with the Garifuna community in Crawfish Rock, Roat\u00e1n, stemming from reported \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/alicedriver.substack.com\/p\/cryptocurrency-investors-say-they\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Epressure on locals\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E to sell property at low prices and privatization of potable water distribution. According to an investigation by Rest of World, Pr\u00f3spera \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/restofworld.org\/2021\/honduran-islanders-push-back-libertarian-startup\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eturned off the taps\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E when locals tried to revert to their old distribution system\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp id=\"docs-internal-guid-dbfeb031-7fff-83c5-79c9-85b79b5d3ac7\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPr\u00f3spera broke ground in 2020, under legislation crafted by former president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elfaro.net\/es\/202108\/columnas\/25639\/Nobody-in-Honduras-Wants-%E2%80%9CModel-Cities%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%94-Except-the-President.htm\"\u003Erejected as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court\u003C\/a\u003E until the magistrates who voted against the proposal were removed and replaced by Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s National Party in 2012.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ECastro\u2019s party Libre \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/honduran-congress-unanimously-nixes-special-economic-zones-2022-04-21\/\"\u003Erepealed the ZEDE law\u003C\/a\u003E in April, widely seen as a change of course on the now-opposition National Party\u2019s signature project.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBut Barquero told Congress on November 3 \u2014four days before the dislodging\u2014 that Pr\u00f3spera, a Delaware-based company, had notified the administration in September that it is readying to sue the state for $10.7 billion \u2014\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=HN\"\u003Eone-third of GDP\u003C\/a\u003E in 2021\u2014 for allegedly violating CAFTA for the repeal in April of the 2013 ZEDE law.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBarquero \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberglinea.com\/2022\/11\/07\/honduras-buscara-evitar-demanda-de-us10700-millones-de-zede-prospera\/\"\u003Eadded\u003C\/a\u003E that the government and firm had until December 16 to settle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAnother of the three ZEDE charter cities, Ciudad Moraz\u00e1n, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CiudadMorazan\/status\/1589634598782521346?s=20&t=bt3KzNPS3qLYNz0THzz-tQ\"\u003Ewrote\u003C\/a\u003E on Monday morning in response to Barquero\u2019s remarks before Congress that it met with the secretary in May, and with other government officials through late September, to seek a settlement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn 2017, the Honduran government disregarded Convention 169 in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/spa\/honduras-lanza-pol%C3%A9mico-proyecto-de-ciudades--modelo--o--charter-\/43684458\"\u003Elaunching\u003C\/a\u003E the charter cities project, citing the ZEDE law from four years earlier. After the repeal of the law in April, Pr\u00f3spera \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/prospera.hn\/news\/press-releases\/built-to-last-legal-stability-in-the-zede-framework\"\u003Eresponded\u003C\/a\u003E that it would continue operations anyway, citing international free-trade agreements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Garifuna people also turn to international law in their demands to the Honduran government. The removal of the Garifuna community from its land in Roat\u00e1n \u201cimplies complete ignorance and irresponsibility by the judges and prosecutors,\u201d Mej\u00eda told El Faro English. \u201cArticle 18 of the constitution guarantees that when a [national] law contradicts an [international] treaty, the latter prevails,\u201d he said, in reference to the ILO convention and Inter-American Court rulings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThat the Garifuna have yet to obtain an ancestral land deed isn\u2019t their fault,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s that of the government, which has not upheld its obligation to issue the deeds.\u201d OFRANEH said on November 10 that, despite the administration\u2019s campaign overtures, it had yet to be granted a meeting with Castro.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGarc\u00eda of OFRANEH told El Faro English that the Castro administration has \u201crelegated our problem [of land rights] further down the road.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe struggle for recognition of ancestral land rights generally expresses itself with violence across all Garifuna communities in Honduras \u2014 like the coastal islands known as the Cayos Cochinos. In its \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202207\/centroamerica\/26306\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EJuly multimedia special\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, El Faro called the archipelago \u201can Eden for tourists, a goldmine for big business, and a hellscape for islanders struggling to survive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E*Correction at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 17: The Honduran government launched the ZEDE project in 2017, not in 2020 \u2014 the latter was the year that Pr\u00f3spera broke ground.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}