Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Karen Spring
Left behind? The blended finance agenda and development cooperation and international solidarity organizations in Canada
ABSTRACT Donor governments have promoted blended finance as an innovative way to catalyze private investment to achieve the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of blended finance is to “de-risk” investments to attract private and philanthropic capital to finance projects in developing countries. The idea still has traction despite growing evidence of problems with scalability and lack of transparency, as well as its impact on uneven development.
“The scent of fraud”: the door opens for a new corporate assault on Honduras
Negotiations Americas All the versions of this article: [English] [Español] FPIF | 15 January 2026 “The scent of fraud”: the door opens for a new corporate assault on Honduras By Jen Moore, Karen Spring While the Trump administration is bombing boats and murdering civilians in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean — and has now illegally invaded Venezuela and kidnapped its president and first lady over unsubstantiated allegations of narcoterrorism — its interference in the recent Honduran elections...
“The Scent of Fraud:” The Door Opens for a New Corporate Assault on Honduras
Asfura with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in January 2026. Photograph Source: Department of State – Public Domain While the Trump administration is bombing boats and murdering civilians in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean — and has now illegally invaded Venezuela and kidnapped its president and first lady over unsubstantiated allegations of narcoterrorism — its interference in the recent Honduran elections is inciting a return to narcopolitics.
Development Banks and Sustainability in the Andean Amazon
Advanced search Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement Latest Articles Submit an article Journal homepage Full Article Figures & data References Citations Metrics Reprints & Permissions Read this article /doi/full/10.1080/02255189.2025.2504539?needAccess=true Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Log in via your institution Access through your institution Log in to Taylor & Francis Online Log in Shibboleth Log in to Taylor &...
Climate Finance and the Limits of Market Fundamentalism
Economy, Environment • February 16, 2025 • , and On December 18, 2024, we spoke with Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a research institute that contributes to the debates across Canada by providing research and analysis for policymakers, activists, and the general public. Mertins-Kirkwood champions pro-public solutions to tackle the climate crisis by financing public goods instead of offering incentives to private firms.
Highway robbery: How bad trade policies make life unaffordable
Many of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries. Do that and you’ll get a glimpse into how unfair trade deals help make life unlivable in many countries — and force countless people to seek a […]
Highway robbery: How bad trade policies make life unaffordable
A lawsuit over toll booths in Honduras shows how corporate trade policies make life unlivable in poor countries — and send people fleeing north. Many of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries.
Highway Robbery: How Bad Trade Policies Make Life Unaffordable
Many of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries. Do that and you’ll get a glimpse into how unfair trade deals help make life unlivable in many countries — and force countless people to seek a living in countries like the United States.
Highway Robbery: How Bad Trade Policies Make Life Unaffordable in Honduras
Many of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries. Do that and you’ll get a glimpse into how unfair trade deals help make life unlivable in many countries — and force countless people to seek a living in countries like the United States.
Highway Robbery: How Bad Trade Policies Make Life Unacceptable
Many of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries. Do that and you’ll get a glimpse into how unfair trade deals help make life unlivable in many countries — and force countless people to seek a living in countries like the United States.
Highway Robbery: How Bad Trade Policies Make Life Unaffordable
Many of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries. Do that and you’ll get a glimpse into how unfair trade deals help make life unlivable in many countries — and force countless people to seek a living in countries like the United States.
Highway Robbery: How Bad Trade Policies Make Life Unaffordable
Most of us know the pain of paying steep tolls, especially when a turnpike is taken over by a private company. Now imagine you live in one of our hemisphere’s most impoverished countries. Do that and you’ll get a glimpse into how unfair trade deals help make life unlivable in many countries — and force countless people to seek a living in countries like the United States.
The corporate assault on Honduras
(published in September 2024) Honduras has received a total of 19 international arbitration claims from foreign and domestic investors. Between 2023 and 2024 alone it has been the recipient of 14 claims (as of August 2024) at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). During this period, the lawsuits have principally aimed at confronting some of the measures taken by the government of Xiomara Castro.
Inversiones mafiosas contra Honduras
(publicado en Septiembre 2024) En 2023 y 2024 Honduras ha recibido el total de diecinueve demandas en el arbitraje internacional por parte de inversionistas extranjeros y nacionales. Solamente entre 2023 y 2024 (hasta agosto) recibió catorce demandas en el Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias sobre Inversiones (CIADI), del Banco Mundial. Durante los últimos dos años, las demandas se orientan principalmente a enfrentar algunas de las medidas tomadas por el Gobierno de Xiomara Castro.
Day Eleven: Two Military Generals Take Stand. Then, Juan Orlando Hernández Testifies.
Skip to main content Skip to header right navigation Skip to site footer General Javier René Barrientos Alvarado testified for the defense General Willy Joel Oseguera Rodas testified for the defense. Juan Orlando Hernández decides to take the stand and testify. General Barrientos Alvarado testified that Honduras did not have a radar to detect non-commercial aircraft from 2010 to 2015. It was unclear what the purpose of his testimony was in JOH’s case.
Day Ten: Former police & firearms expert testify. Government rests their case. Honduran military general testifies for the defense.
Geovany Rodríguez, the former police officer and confessed drug trafficker finishes testifying. John Miller, a firearms expert from the U.S. Bureau on Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) testifies. Prosecution rests their case. Juan Orlando Hernández’s (JOH) defense calls their first witness: Military General Tulio Armando Romero Palacios. Testimony of Military Brigade General Tulio Armando Romero Palacios: Romero is an advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Honduran Armed Forces.
Testimony In JOH Trial Shows How US And Canada Ignored Warnings
Above p[hoto: U.S. Ambassador James Nealon (middle) poses with a group of men, among them Alexander Ardón (circled in pink) from El Paraíso, Copan. Ardón paid $2 million in drug money to finance Lobo and JOH’s political campaigns. Alexander Ardón is now one of the U.S. prosecution’s star collaborating witnesses in New York drug trials..
Day Seven: The Cachiro, Devis Rivera Maradiaga Continued on the Stand
Devis Rivera Maradiaga, one of the two brothers that led the Cachiro cartel, continued on the stand all day. Today was the first time that JOH was mentioned as being involved in drug trafficking logistics. Up until today, witnesses had testified about how JOH had received bribes and used his political power to further the drug trafficking conspiracy.
Day Five: Detective Finishes On Stand & Three More Witnesses Testify Including a Member of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Miguel Reynosa (a pseudonym), a Honduran detective from the DCLN finished on the stand (see day four for more on his testimony) Professional translater and interpretor, Mr. Prado (his full name was inaudible in the court) testified about his translations of the drug ledgers. Jennifer Taul, a DEA intelligence research specialist provided an overview of drug movements and prices in Honduras and more broadly, the region.
Day Two: Opening Remarks & Two Witnesses.
Opening remarks (by both the prosecution and defense) (see a detailed summary of the opening remarks below). Two government witnesses testified: A Honduran accountant, José Sánchez (a pseudonym) and cooperating witness Alexander Soriano Ardón, the former mayor of El Paraíso, Copán. Former Attorney General (AG) Oscar Chinchilla was mentioned.
Day One: Jury Selection
The public was not permitted into the courtroom during jury selection. Instead, a separate courtroom was designated for the public to watch the process on screens. The jury was selected and is made up of 12 jurors and 6 substitutes (9 women and 9 men). It was discussed that the girlfriend of Alexander Mendoza (also known as “El Porky”), one of the leaders of the powerful transnational street gang, MS-13, will testify in the trial.
Narco-trial Update #5: Live from New York.
** ESPAÑOL ABAJO ** Contacts: Karen Spring, Tel: 1-609-648-8094, karen@hondurasnow.org & Vicki Cervantes, Tel: Tel: 1-312-259-5042, victorialcervantes@gmail.com Karen Spring, co-coordinator of the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) will be attending the historical trial of the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) starting today at the Southern District Court of New York (SDNY).
Government reforms face corporate backlash in Honduras
Negotiations US-DR-CAFTA NACLA Report on the Americas | Winter 2023 Government reforms face corporate backlash in Honduras By Karen Spring Seven men, all dressed in suits, gathered at an undisclosed location in Honduras, sitting around a table covered in a white tablecloth and decorated with small glass vases holding yellow flowers.
- Honduras Now
The “US and Canada-backed narco-state” campaign will begin in January 2024. The New York trial of three Honduran drug traffickers, including ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández is currently set for February 5, 2024. While the trial unfolds in New York, the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) and Honduras Now will put the U.S., Canada and the “international community” on trial for backing the rise of a narco-state in Honduras since the 2009 coup d’état. See the full description below.
New Documents Highlight U.S. Trained Special Forces Involved in Drug Trafficking and Gangs
Documents released on June 9, 2022 by U.S. court mention that the former Honduran special police force, the COBRAS, worked with ‘Los Grillos’ criminal gang involved in drug trafficking and assassinations. Tegucigalpa. Last Updated: June 10, 2022 Members of the former Honduran elite police unit, the COBRAS, worked with the ‘Los Grillos’ criminal gang to steal drug money and shipments, according to newly released U.S. court documents.
DAY FORTY-NINE: The Last Day of the Trial Against David Castillo. — Aqui Abajo
Last update June 30 at 11:30 am All parties - the prosecution, private accusers, and the defense presented their closing remarks. The prosecution argued that they presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that David Castillo is guilty of being the intellectual author of Berta Cáceres’s murder. The murder was carried out because Berta had caused significant economic losses for DESA and had caused the dam construction company, Sinohydro to pull out of the Agua Zarca project.
DAY ELEVEN: Trial Against David Castillo — Aqui Abajo
Last update: May 7 at 10:05 pm An examination of data extracted from Sergio Rodriguez’s cell phone included several messages sent to the “Security PHAZ [Agua Zarca hydroelectric project]” Whatsapp chat group and others.
DAY ONE: Trial Against David Castillo, Co-Author of Berta Cáceres's Murder — Aqui Abajo
Roberto David Castillo Mejía is charged with being the intellectual author of the murder of Berta Cáceres Flores. Castillo, by law, has to be present at his trial. [NOTE: COPINH and Berta Cáceres’s family do not consider David Castillo to be an intellectual author of Berta’s murder despite being charged as such. COPINH has publicly stated that Castillo was following orders and that he was protecting the interests of others.
COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa: Insecurity Today, More Austerity Tomorrow?
As bad as short-term outlooks are, the long-term fallout of COVID-19 could be even more grim. Even prior to the introduction of the coronavirus, debt burdens were impeding effective economic policymaking. In Egypt and Lebanon, for example, interest payments alone have absorbed upwards of 30 percent of total public expenditures in recent years.
DeVos and the Charter School Movement Use a Pandemic to Advance Their Agendas
COVID-19 has shuttered public schools across the nation, state governments are threatening to slash education budgets due to the economic collapse caused by the outbreak, and emergency aid provided by the federal government is far short of what is needed, according to a broad coalition of education groups.
Hondurans Protest as Elites Attempt to Use Pandemic to Enrich Themselves
Corruption and Dictatorship JOH closed the country’s borders on March 15 (except to deportees from the U.S.), imposed an absolute curfew, and suspended fundamental constitutional rights, including the right to freedom of expression, private property, freedom of circulation, and habeas corpus, allowing indefinite detention.
Stop the Pandemic Profiteers
Wartime profiteering has been as common in our country as war itself. Indeed, during the American Revolution assorted corrupt merchants and traders lined their pockets by controlling the supply and jacking up the prices on various goods they sold to the Continental Army and to the general public. Often though, feisty colonials struck back at the gougers.
One Way to Honor Vets? Protect the Postal Service
If you’re looking for a way to honor veterans, here’s one: protect the U.S. Postal Service. I’m a veteran from a family of veterans. After serving in the Marine Corps, I got a good-paying postal job that put me on a solid path to financial security. Now I lead the Detroit Area Local for the American Postal Workers Union. Our 1,500 members include many veterans, some of whom I served with myself. Across the country, nearly 113,000 veterans now serve as postal workers.
From rural Ontario to Central America: a Canadian activist’s plea for her spouse in prison in Honduras
I have lived and worked in Honduras as a Canadian human rights defender for nine years. I am also the spouse of political prisoner, Edwin Espinal, who is being held in horrific conditions in a maximum-security prison in Honduras. He has been the target of Honduran state persecution since 2009. Despite efforts to stop the persecution, the Honduran government arrested him, along with several others in January 2018. Last week, I participated in a press conference and rally
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Karen
Contact Karen, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack