Narcotics trafficking poses a growing threat to Indigenous land rights and access in Honduras, particularly for the Miskitu people of La Mosquitia (McSweeney & Pearson, 2014). As McSweeney and Pearson argue in Prying People from Native Lands (2014), formal land tenure alone is insufficient to safeguard Indigenous land access, as the problem is rooted in broader structural inequalities of economic, political, and social power (Ribot & Peluso, 2003, p.164).
U.S. anti-narcotics policies have inadvertently strengthened trafficking organizations, increasing their power relative to Indigenous communities (McSweeney & Pearson, 2014). In La Mosquitia, formal tenure has provided some benefits in terms of restitution and repatriation, but its effectiveness is undermined by narcotics trafficking groups who, in collaboration with state and military actors, control land access. These alliances deepen existing inequalities and render tenure rights ineffective.
Moreover, formal land titling has accelerated the commercialization and corporatization of Indigenous lands, attracting foreign investment and enabling resource extraction. While ostensibly designed to empower Indigenous peoples, these policies often favor economic elites and external interests, exacerbating dispossession, environmental degradation, and cultural erosion (McSweeney & Pearson, 2014).
Narcotics trafficking organizations exploit Indigenous lands for their strategic value, laundering profits, legitimizing their presence, and co-opting political and military support. This convergence of state and illicit power further erodes Indigenous autonomy (McSweeney & Pearson, 2014). The result is a landscape of inequality where tenure rights are systematically undermined by structural forces and selective policy implementation.
To counter these dynamics, formal land tenure must be coupled with broader reforms that enhance the political, economic, and social power of Indigenous peoples (Ogutu & Qaim, 2019, pp. 281–282, 291–292). Governments should halt collaboration with trafficking organizations and prioritize transparency, subsurface rights protections, and community-based land management strategies (Agrawal & Gibson, 1999, pp. 630, 641). When tenure is supported by inclusive governance, it can foster accountability, local legitimacy, and sustainable access to land.
Comparative examples from Oaxaca, Mexico, and Guatemala show that tenure combined with precautionary principles and policies targeting inequality can improve Indigenous land security (Ibarra et al., 2011, pp. 330–331; Isakson, 2014, pp. 347–349, 374–375). Similarly, Kenya demonstrates the importance of infrastructure and investment in reducing Indigenous vulnerability (Ogutu & Qaim, 2019).
Ultimately, formal land tenure in Honduras must be embedded within a framework that disrupts elite collusion and enhances Indigenous agency. Without addressing the structural power imbalances that shape access to land, tenure alone cannot protect Indigenous communities from displacement, exploitation, and violence (McSweeney & Pearson, 2014; Ribot & Peluso, 2003, p.164; Bryant, 1998, p.85).
Sources:
Agrawal, A. and Gibson, C. C. 1999. Enchantment and Disenchantment: The Role of Community in Natural Resource Conservation.World Development, Vol. 27, No. 4, p.629-649, 1999. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. doi: 10.1016/S0305-750X(98)00161-2
Bryant, R.L. 1998. Power, knowledge and political ecology in the third world: A review. Progress in Physical Geography 22(1),79-94.
Ibarra, J.T., Barreau, A., Del Campo, C., Camacho, C.I., Martin, G.J., McCandless and S.R.2011. When formal market-based conservation mechanisms disrupt food sovereignty: Impacts of community conservation and payments for environmental services on an indigenous community of Oaxaca, Mexico. International Forestry Review, 13(3), 318-337.
Isakson, S.R. 2014. Maize diversity and the political economy of agrarian restructuring in Guatemala. Journal ofAgrarian Change, 14(3): 347-379.
McSweeney, K. and Pearson, Z. 2014. Prying NativePeople from Native Lands: Narco Business in Honduras. NACLA Report on theAmericas 46 (4):7-12. Accessed online at https://nacla.org/news/2014/2/4/prying-native-people-native-lands-narco-business-honduras
Ogutu, S.O. and Qaim, M. 2019. Commercialization of the small farm sector and multidimensional poverty. World Development,114: 281-293.
Ribot, J.C. and Peluso, N.L. 2003. A theory of access. Rural Sociology, 68(2), 153-181.
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