Plan will flood neighbourhoods subjected to extortion by criminal groups in two largest cities for next 30 days

Authorities in Honduras will partially suspend constitutional rights as part of an effort to combat an apparent rise in extortion, raising fears of human rights violations and warnings of creeping authoritarianism in Central America.

Under the plan, which will come into effect late on Tuesday and will be in effect for at least 30 days, thousands of security forces will be deployed to 162 gang-infested neighborhoods in the country’s two largest cities, San Pedro Sula and the capital, Tegucigalpa.

As his term ends, Juan Orlando Hernández could be extradited on drug charges to the country that once saw him as a key ally

Along a paved road that climbs the hillside to Celaque Mountain national park in south-western Honduras, one-room shacks are overshadowed by high-walled mansions – including the homes of President Juan Orlando Hernández and his political allies.

Local people say the results of Hernández’s eight years as president are on full display.