Leader of Honduran anti-corruption group leaves country under threats

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The director of a Honduran anti-corruption organization has fled the country with her family over threats she received in the month since publishing a report on nepotism inside the administration of President Xiomara Castro.

The National Anti-Corruption Council has been reporting alleged wrongdoing in successive Honduran administrations for nearly a decade. On May 25, it warned of the dangers posed by a “concentration of power” from government posts going to the sons and other relatives of Castro and her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya.

The group said its director, Gabriela Castellanos, had left Honduras for an undisclosed destination because of threats.

“We will continue fighting against corruption,” Castellanos said via Twitter. “Those who must be quiet are the cowards, not the brave voices of the Hondurans who work to pass down a Honduras worthy of being called motherland.”

The group said Castellanos had filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission because she “found herself in a situation of risk.”

Carlos Hernández, director of the Association for a More Just Society, the local chapter of Transparency International, confirmed that Castellanos had left Honduras. He said the decision was made among a very small group and on the advice of security experts.

Neither Castellanos in her public statements nor Hernández said who was responsible for the threats.

“This wasn’t handled openly until she arrived at her destination,” Hernández said. “Not even her people knew the details of her departure because there was an imminent threat. Only a small group of us knew, but I can confirm that she left the country and I have been in touch with her.”

Requests seeking comment from Castro’s administration were not immediately answered.

Yanivis Izaguirre, spokesperson for the National Anti-Corruption Council, said on Twitter that the organization had presented some 149 lines of investigation involving alleged corruption since 2014, “that back the country’s struggle, non-partisan.”

In the report on Castro’s administration, the council noted that in addition to Zelaya being a key adviser, one of their sons is also a presidential adviser and another son is her private secretary. Other relatives are sprinkled through various government ministries.