Violence in Honduras

Y Care International has received the sad news that José Adalberto Platero, who was a beneficiary of our partner, YMCA Honduras, was assassinated over the Christmas holidays.

José participated in a number of YMCA Honduras' activities, including ‘Project 21', a community focussed youth group in a deprived part of the capital, Tegucigalpa. He is one of a number of young people killed recently in Honduras, including other YMCA beneficiaries.

Young people at YMCA Honduras have been speaking out about violence against young people and the extra-judicial killing of young people for some time, and this has remained a critical issue following the recent political and economic crises in Honduras.

YMCA Honduras has made a public call for people to speak out, reiterating its commitment to defending human rights and youth justice and inviting people to strengthen their commitment to building a fair and humane country.  

The Latin American and Caribbean Association of YMCAs also stated: ‘As a Christian movement committed to life, justice and peace, we fundamentally condemn this crime and stand in solidarity with the young people who simply because they are young find themselves in particular situations of danger, threatened not only by unemployment, poverty and a lack of civic rights, but also because their lives are daily at risk.'