Juvenile Justice

Congressman Flavio Nájera opposes lowering the age of criminal responsibility and instead proposes increasing sentences for minors convicted of crimes to 15 years or more.

Liberal deputy Jorge Cálix, citing El Salvador's gang-control model, called for life sentences for minors convicted of serious crimes and urged Honduras to withdraw from international agreements he says prevent harsher juvenile penalties.

A congressional committee launched consultations with justice officials, human rights groups, and child welfare agencies on a proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility and increase penalties for those under 18 in Honduras.

Honduras allows criminal prosecution of adolescents as young as 12, one of the region's lowest thresholds; Congress is now debating raising penalties for juveniles and allowing 16- and 17-year-olds accused of serious crimes to face adult prosecution.

Congress President Tomás Zambrano has not ruled out a popular referendum to let citizens decide whether minors involved in gangs and organized crime should be tried as adults, a proposal drawing debate among legal experts about constitutional limits and international child-protection obligations.

Congress Security Commission president Marco Paz said the current security reform package focuses on changes to the National Penitentiary and police forces, while any proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility remains under debate with no concrete proposal yet.

A minor accused by prosecutors of forcing four protected witnesses to flee Villa Nueva, Tegucigalpa on September 6 has been released from prosecution after a judge dismissed the charges.