Violence in Bajo Aguán and “Hondurasgate”

In the Aguán Valley in Honduras, where a conflict between the peasant population and three agricultural companies has been simmering for decades, at least 20 people were shot and killed on May 20, 2026. The massacre, whose victims included children, took place in a local church; according to witness accounts, some of the perpetrators were wearing police uniforms.

The Honduran government, led by the right-wing conservative businessman and President Nasry Asfura, did not respond to calls from Honduran and international human rights organizations for an independent investigation and protective measures for the peasant population. Instead, lawmakers from his National Party blamed the peasants themselves for the violence and threatened to classify peasant organizations as terrorist groups.

In nd, Daniela Dreißig places the massacre in a broader context. This context also includes the alleged collusion—published under the name “Hondurasgate”—between actors from Honduras, the U.S., Israel, Argentina, and other Latin American countries during the first months of this year. The recordings published by the Spanish online portal Canal Red primarily implicate Asfura and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the U.S. for drug trafficking but was recently pardoned by Trump.

It has not yet been definitively confirmed whether the recordings are authentic. If they are, they provide evidence of collusion to bring Hernández back into the Honduran government’s leadership, establish a U.S. military base in Honduras, and expand the private economic zones known as ZEDEs. But even beyond Honduras, “Hondurasgate” could reveal networks aimed at weakening progressive governments in Latin America and strengthening right-wing politicians—in the interests of the U.S. and with the help of corruption, disinformation, and violence.