They die like flies’: Intibucá in Honduras has an alarming alcohol problem – can prohibition and tough love fix it?

  • Pastor Rómulo and a group of his most trusted recovering alcoholics are loading up alcoholics from the streets onto the back of the pickup to bring them to the centre. 20.04.2024 Intibucá, Honduras

  • Pastor Rómulo is walking out of the room to talk to a recovered alcoholic who has just brought his relapsed friend, who is being carried into a bed (right), after finding him sleeping on the street outside a clandestine cantina. This room is for the people who come directly to the centre. It is locked because many try to escape or start hallucinating. 14.04.2024 Intibucá, Honduras

  • After showering and receiving clean clothes, the alcoholics the pastor snatched from the street are locked into this building to sleep off their delirium. 20.04.2024 Intibucá, Honduras

  • Hector Alberto Palacios M. is a recovering alcoholic who is a trained car mechanic (diploma) but now works as a construction worker. To pass the time he fixes up the centre and because he is one of the people that are longer in the programme he has permission to take small jobs outside of the centre. 14.04.2024 Intibucá, Honduras

  • Pastor Rómulo is giving an Injection of Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B₁, is a vitamin, an essential micronutrient for humans and animals. He gives it to the alcoholics during the recovery process as it helps as well against the extreme lack of nutrition mny have been exposed to before coming to the centre. 20.04.2024 intibucá, Honduras

  • The recoering alcoholics at pastor Rómulo's center are preparing a soup from the donated cowshead and lower legs. 14.04.2024 Intbuca, Honduras

  • A known alcoholic that spent the night sleeping on the street by leaning (hugging) a stopsign. 21.04.2024, Intibuca, Honduras

  • Customers buying Guaro in a legal shop. 20.04.2024 Intibucá, Honduras

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Intibucá, a predominantly rural department in southwestern Honduras, faces a severe alcohol crisis. A 2017 study by the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) revealed that Intibucá recorded 27.9 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double that of the capital, Tegucigalpa, and nearly triple the national average. If considered a country, Intibucá would surpass Belarus, currently the highest globally, which has 21.4 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

The widespread availability of inexpensive alcohol contributes significantly to this issue. A liter of the locally produced spirit aguardiente, commonly known as guaro, can be purchased for about 50 lempiras (£1.60) at any kiosk or supermarket.

Addressing this crisis, community members have initiated grassroots efforts. Camilo* offers his shed for regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, with an estimated 500 participants across 16 groups in the municipality. Rómulo runs the "Ministry of Life," where individuals struggling with addiction are brought in, often involuntarily, to undergo a structured evangelical recovery program. In 2023 alone, 723 people passed through this center.

Experts like sociologist Fernando Pachero from UNAH suggest that the problem is deeply rooted in historical trauma. He points to the colonial era when Indigenous communities were displaced, and alcohol was used as a tool of domination, leaving lasting impacts on the region.

Despite these efforts, the challenge remains daunting. Many residents do not recognize alcoholism as a chronic illness, leading to underreporting and inadequate treatment. Healthcare professionals often treat only the symptoms of alcohol-related conditions, such as liver cirrhosis and gastrointestinal bleeding, without addressing the underlying addiction.

The situation in Intibucá underscores the need for comprehensive strategies that combine community initiatives, healthcare interventions, and policy reforms to effectively combat the pervasive alcohol problem.

*Name changed for privacy.