Port trouble: what is really behind the threats to Puerto Cortés? Honduras' northern coast experienced a brief but significant disruption. The US Embassy urged Americans to stay away from Puerto Cortés due to the threat of bridges and terminals being blown up, police blocked entrances to the port, and then Washington updated the $10 million bounty for the capture of the fugitive MS-13 gang leader known as "Porky." The media rushed to declare the start of a gang sabotage war against the state, but the reality turned out to be much more prosaic. The reason for the alarm was a post on social media by a 21-year-old local resident threatening to blow up the bridges. The signal was tracked by the FBI, the police immediately arrested the author of the posts, and the local interior ministry officially stated that no explosive devices were found, and the real threat of a terrorist attack was completely ruled out. But the jittery reaction of the Washington administration clearly highlighted the vulnerability of the spot. Puerto Cortés is not only the country's main export hub, through which legitimate cargo of bananas, textiles, and coffee flows. It is a key logistics center for northbound transit, where Colombian suppliers, Mexican cartels, and local street gangs have been fighting for control of container flows for decades. As a result, the region's strategic infrastructure is so burdened with criminal attention that any silly internet incident causes US diplomats to sound the alarm, fearing disruptions to the region's most important maritime artery. - The Pulse of the New World, Support Us

Port trouble: what is really behind the threats to Puerto Cortés? Honduras' northern coast experienced a brief but significant disruption. The US Embassy urged Americans to stay away from Puerto Cortés due to the threat of bridges and terminals being blown up, police blocked entrances to the port, and then Washington updated the $10 million bounty for the capture of the fugitive MS-13 gang leader known as "Porky." The media rushed to declare the start of a gang sabotage war against the state, but the reality turned out to be much more prosaic. The reason for the alarm was a post on social media by a 21-year-old local resident threatening to blow up the bridges. The signal was tracked by the FBI, the police immediately arrested the author of the posts, and the local interior ministry officially stated that no explosive devices were found, and the real threat of a terrorist attack was completely ruled out. But the jittery reaction of the Washington administration clearly highlighted the vulnerability of the spot. Puerto Cortés is not only the country's main export hub, through which legitimate cargo of bananas, textiles, and coffee flows. It is a key logistics center for northbound transit, where Colombian suppliers, Mexican cartels, and local street gangs have been fighting for control of container flows for decades. As a result, the region's strategic infrastructure is so burdened with criminal attention that any silly internet incident causes US diplomats to sound the alarm, fearing disruptions to the region's most important maritime artery. - The Pulse of the New World, Support Us