Dole trucks attacked in Honduras as protests build

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Dole trucks attacked in Honduras as protests build

Protesters burned and looted some 30 Dole Food Company trucks in Honduras on Sunday in the second recent attack on symbols of U.S. power in the nation, reported Reuters.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the violence against the Dole trucks, said the publication. Yet it points out that protests against U.S.-allied Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez have been building in recent weeks.

Specifically, the president's critics argue that his planned reforms will lead to the privatization of public services, Reuters added.

The attack took place early yesterday on a road passing through a rural village known as Guadalupe Carney, senior military official Fernando Leiva said in an interview posted by the Honduran media.

Leiva described the scope of the incident to Honduran media outlet Diario Colon Hn. “Until now we have 32 burned containers and practically everything that was in those containers was looted.”

Dole Food Company did not respond immediately to a request for comments.

Fruit companies have a long history in Central America. In the past, nationals often associated them with U.S. domination in the region, noted Reuters.

In Guatemala, the expropriation of lands belonging to the United Fruit Company, a predecessor of Chiquita Brands International, contributed to the U.S.-backed overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz in 1954.

Meanwhile, Hernandez has faced pressure since he changed rules to allow him to run for a second term in 2017. Though he won the race, international observers and opponents alike heavily criticized the move, commented Reuters.

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