Ketchum was hired to improve the Honduran government's image, which is stained by human rights violations.
Hillary Clinton is not the only person
doing P.R. to legitimize the government of Honduras that rose to power in the wake of the U.S.-backed 2009 coup, overseeing a dramatic escalation in violence against Indigenous, human rights and environmental defenders.
The powerful U.S.-based P.R. firm Ketchum—which is owned by Omnicom—was paid $421,333 last June for a one-year
contract with the Honduran government that continues into the present. One of the largest such agencies in the world, the firm is headquartered in New York and claims to operate in 70 countries on six continents. It describes itself as "a global communications firm that loves to do break through work for clients" and
boasts: "we're just crazy enough to believe you can actually change the world."
The company is representing the government of Honduras in the midst of an escalating human rights crisis defined by a spate of assassinations of Indigenous environmental activists, including the renowned social movement leader Berta Cáceres. Today, Honduras is one of the
most dangerous places on earth for environmental defenders, with activists reporting that
death squads are making a comeback. Human rights and environmental groups from around the world are calling on Secretary of State John Kerry to halt military aid to the Honduran government until an investigation into Cáceres' murder is
fully carried out. Meanwhile,
new reporting from the
New York Times shines light on police leaders' unchecked power to order assassinations.
Comment: Half the US population thinks the voting system is more or less rigged? Where does that leave the vaunted US 'freedom and democracy' when the 50% of the supposed fount of those values believe them to be utterly corrupted?