The New Military Police Make Their Debut

The new Military Police in Honduras marching in the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa on September 15th Independence Day. This picture is terrible - I took it while watching the reruns of the videos aired on Honduran TV over and over again. This is probably one of the first public appearances of the Military Police or 'Policia Militar del Orden Publico', a new force created by a new law approved by the Honduran Congress in April 2013

. The new police unit, under the control of the Honduran Armed Forces, is training in Naco, Honduras, the same base where the TIGRES, another military-style police force created earlier this year is training as well. The NACO Regional base is just outside of San Pedro Sula and the location of a former (as far as I know) U.S. Forward Operating Base. Based on its public appearance on September 15, I think its far to say that these guys are scary looking. And I'm just talking about their overall physical image. As Hondurans head to the polls to vote in the 2013 General Elections in November and the Honduran military are in the streets performing police functions; the creation of the two specialized military police forces is another example of the extreme militarization of Honduran society.