Dear Friends of the People of Honduras.

We write with joyful news!

Yesterday, the Honduran people went to the polls and in an historic presidential election the opposition candidate, Xiomara Castro, won a landslide victory. Her victory represents a sharp rejection of the corruption, repression and criminal actions of the outgoing Administration and political party of Juan Orlando Hernandez. It also represents a cry for economic, social, political and environmental justice.

Our Honduran Sisters and Brothers reached out to me last night as the results became known to express their deepest thanks for accompanying them in these years of suffering. “To all of our friends we say THANK YOU VERY MUCH.”

For more than 12 years, the slogan on the street was “FUERA JOH” - a call to oust the narco- government of Juan Orlando Hernandez and to stop the persecution of all who held the government accountable, including the defenders of human rights and environmental justice.

The historic nature of the electoral results was manifold:

1. Overall voter turnout was the highest in the history of Honduras (3.4 million, over 68%); the participation of youth was also the highest in the history of the country. (almost 2 million voters).
2. The winning candidate, Xiomara Castro, received more votes than any other presidential candidate in the country's history, (over 53% vs 33% of her opposition), and is the first woman president in Honduras and the region.
3. This election represents the first time a narco-dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere has ended democratically.

​Though the final count will take a few more days, the 20-point lead represents an insurmountable lead. Results are still coming in for the Congress as well. 

Our Honduran sisters and brothers respectfully demand that the U.S. Administration of President Biden administration respect the results of the elections and refrain from supporting any coup d'etat.  As we recall, after the 2009 election, the Obama administration supported a coup d’etat resulting in a government that produced violence and displacement of thousands of refugees.

Next week, a SHARE delegation of 18 will visit Honduras to celebrate this victory and the 75th anniversary of Radio Progresso, to build the Vamos a La Milpa campaign and to seek the release of the Guapinol 8.

You are most welcome to join us virtually and for a report back when we return. We invite you to make a donation to support Vamos a la Milpa at  www.SHARE-ElSalvador.org.
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On behalf of the SHARE Foundation and our Honduran partners, we thank each and every one of you for accompanying the people of Honduras for these 12 years.
Together, we are light in the dark!-

There are times when all pretense and superficiality passes away, and things become focused and serious in a surreal way.  This day was one of those times.

Today we visited the Guapinol Eight, so named because they are eight prisoners of conscience in detention for protesting against mining development in a national park affecting the Guapinol River.  They are in a prison in Olanchito.  We actually only visited seven prisoners, as the eighth remains in a high security prison in la Ceiba.

For many of us, especially us less experienced visitors, this was a unique experience.  These men have been in detention for two years, and their families receive continuous threats.  They each briefly introduced themselves, as did we.  We expressed our profound respect for their efforts and our commitment to doing what we could, however limited or inadequate, to further their release.  They expressed optimism and gratitude for our presence.  I noticed all the prisoners were clean, with fresh clothes, and that the guards were cordial and accommodating.

In the end all that mattered was that we were there.  In the Catholic faith we talk about the importance of presence, of being there.  We left some gifts of towels and toiletries, hoping they would not be stolen.  Sister Mary blessed us with a closing prayer, and we were on our way out the door.
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My only other thought on this is that we should all dedicate ourselves to doing what we can to have these people released—writing our Representatives and Senators, advocating however we can…. La lucha continua