Five Years Since Honduras Coup

Five years ago today I wrote a post entitled, "Coup in Honduras" and then wrote about the wretched, twisting, and some outright strange saga throughout the summer. It made Hondurans worse off, further damaged an already weak Honduran polyarchy, undermined the Obama administration's rhetorical commitment to democracy, reasserted the military's overtly political role, and opened up more space for drug trafficking organizations.

Sadly, no one mentions the coup in the context of unaccompanied Central American crossing the U.S. border illegally, but it matters. Honduras was already fragile and the coup ripped it up even more, intensifying the incentive to leave. Or at least to find a way to have your children leave. In the United States, though, I don't know how many people even remember it happened, much less what long-term effects it fostered.