ConflictBarometer_2015

THE AMERICAS
later, about 8,000 protesters demanded the resignation of
President Hernández as well as the installment of an international
commission to fight impunity and corruption (CICIH),
similar to the UN-led CICIG in Guatemala. The main supporter
of the establishment of the CICIH was the newly-formed civil
''Los Indignados'' movement which started a hunger strike
on June 22 and set up tents near the presidential palace in
the capital Tegucigalpa. By the end of June, the strikers had
clashed with riot police on several occasions. On June 23,
Hernández proposed a national dialogue to stop protests and
to promote the creation of an anti-corruption system other
than the CICIH.
Throughout the second half of the year, protests continued.
For instance, on June 29, members of several civil society
organizations blocked the street to Guatemala for several
hours near Copán, Copán department. On July 3, members of
''Los Indignados'' filed lawsuits against the police due to previous
violent acts against the protesters' camp. One month
later, Congress rejected an initiative to hold a plebiscite on
the creation of the CICIH by 66 votes for and 56 against. On
September 29, the OAS announced the Mission to Support the
Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH).
Despite previous talks with the OAS, the ''Los Indignados'' rejected
the MACCIH by declaring it to be biased in favor of the
government. FRNP also opposed the installation of MACCIH
and organized a nationwide strike on October 1. Hundreds of
people participated and blocked streets and bridges in major
cities including Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, Cortés department.
The protests intensified following the September
resignation of Guatemala's president Otto Pérez after a UNbacked
institution had uncovered a corruption network [→
Guatemala (opposition)]. On November 4, protesters clashed
with riot police at an anti-corruption demonstration in Tegucigalpa
and other cities. The police fired tear gas and water
cannons to stop the approx. 500 protesters from blocking
the main road between the capital and San Pedro Sula. rma
HONDURAS EL SALVADOR (ISLA CONEJO)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 2013
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Honduras vs. El Salvador
territory
The territorial conflict between Honduras and El Salvador
over the island Isla Conejo and adjacent waters in the Gulf of
Fonseca de-escalated. Both countries upheld their claims
to the disputed area. For instance, in early February, former
Ambassador to Honduras and member of the Salvadoran
Parliament Sigifredo Ochoa Pérez urged Honduran President
Orlando Hernández to vacate the island from Honduran military
personnel and accused Honduras of a policy of ''territorial
expansionism.'' In a subsequent meeting with his Salvadoran
counterpart Sanchez Ceren on February 15, the issue was not
part of the agenda. The SICA meeting in December, in which
El Salvador received the presidency from Honduras, also did
not mention the dispute. peh
JAMAICA (DRUG GANGS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2010
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
The conflict over subnational predominance between various
drug gangs and the government remained violent. According
to the US Overseas Security Advisory Council, most crime
and violence in the country was gang-related. The country
remained the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the
US and local Caribbean islands and an important transit hub
for cocaine and synthetic drugs trafficked from South America
to international markets.
At a press conference of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF)
on January 7 in the capital Kingston, police officials voiced
their intentions to further curb gang violence and to decrease
homicide rates. Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of
crime Glenmore Hinds stated that the police would employ
a number of anti-crime strategies such as the formation of a
Guns-For-Drugs-Trade task force to disarm the gangs.
Various arrests took place in the areas most affected by violence,
such as Spanish Town, Tivoli Gardens, and St. James, all
part of the capital Kingston. On March 14, the police arrested
a leading member of the One Order gang in St. Catherine,
reportedly a major contributor to the ongoing violence in the
capital. On May 27, several members of One Order were
charged under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal
Organizations) Act, the so-called ''anti-gang law'', in St.
Catherine, among them a police constable.
In mid-July, three police officers were killed in seemingly systematic
and coordinated attacks against the JCF in Kingston.
On July 28, the JCF launched a joint military operation against
the Sparta Gang and Rebel Gang in St. James with more than
100 policemen and 55 soldiers. According to Superintendent
Steve McGregor, two gunmen were shot dead. In addition, the
JCF stated that inter-gang violence caused by power struggles
among the gangs themselves remained rampant. On July
14, three civilians were shot dead and one was injured in an
inter-gang shootout in St. James. Six days later, police intervened
in a gunfight between two rivaling and heavily armed
gangs in Kingston, leaving one policeman injured. The overall
number of homicides increased by about 20 percent compared
to 2014, marking a five-year high of about 45 killings
per 100,000 inhabitants in comparison to 36 per 100,000 in
the previous year, 44 in 2013, and 62 in 2009. jf
MEXICO (CNTE ET AL.)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2006
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
drug gangs vs. government
subnational predominance
CNTE et al. vs. government
system/ideology
The violent crisis over the orientation of the political system
between the National Coordination of Education Workers
(CNTE) and the government led by President Enrique Peña Nieto
continued. CNTE mobilization predominantly took place
in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Michoacán, sporadically
joined by smaller unions and teacher trainees, the so-called
normalistas [→ Mexico (public security)].
Protest marches, blockades, and attacks on government of-
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