Honduras: Cossette López warns at the OAS about new forms of "institutional kidnapping" that threaten democracies

Cossette López-Osorio assumed the post of permanent representative of Honduras to the OAS on September 9, 2026. (PHOTO: Hondudiario)Honduras' ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Cossette López-Osorio, put on the table an expression that sums up one of the current debates about democracy in Latin America: "institutional hijacking." The diplomat used that concept to refer to forms of democratic deterioration that can advance gradually through the weakening of checks and balances, the separation of powers, and political pluralism, according to reports on her recent interventions before the hemispheric body. The warning came in the context of activities marking the 25th anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, adopted in 2001 as one of the region's main political instruments for the defense of representative democracy. The OAS Permanent Council held a special session on September 25 to commemorate that anniversary. The Honduran ambassador warned about new forms of "institutional hijacking" that can weaken democratic checks and balances. (PHOTO: X)The expression used by López does not correspond to a specific legal category of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, but rather to a political characterization employed by the ambassador. In practical terms, it points to scenarios in which institutions continue to formally function, but the controls among branches of government, institutional independence, or political competition may be weakened. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) itself warned this September that processes of "gradual weakening" of essential elements of representative democracy exist in the hemisphere, and it called on States to protect the independence of judicial, prosecutorial, and electoral authorities, as well as to strengthen transparency and accountability. That does not mean the IACHR used López's term or specifically singled out Honduras in that statement. It is a separate regional diagnosis that helps contextualize the debate. The expression used by López does not constitute an OAS legal category, but rather a political characterization of processes of institutional deterioration. (PHOTO: La Prensa)López-Osorio formally assumed the post of permanent representative of Honduras to the OAS on September 9, 2026. During the presentation of her credentials, she stated that Honduras would seek to maintain an "open and constructive" relationship with the organization and to actively participate in building hemispheric consensus. Her recent agenda has included democracy, human rights, regional security, and institutional cooperation. The intervention on "institutional hijacking" fits within that approach, although the available reports do not detail specific countries to which López was attributing that situation. Therefore, the phrase should be understood as a general warning about democratic risks, not as a substantiated accusation against a specific government. The Honduran representative also participated in discussions related to digital violence against women and girls. The OAS recently presented the Inter-American Model Law to Prevent, Punish, and Eradicate Digital Violence Against Women Based on Gender, designed to guide States in creating or adapting legal frameworks and public policies. The instrument addresses phenomena such as digital aggression, the non-consensual dissemination of intimate content, online harassment, and other forms of violence that disproportionately affect women and girls. Its application, however, depends on each State translating those recommendations into legislation, investigative mechanisms, and national public policies. Honduras has put forward before the OAS an agenda centered on democracy, human rights, security, and regional cooperation. (PHOTO: OAS)The discussion raised in Washington once again places at the center a recurring question for the region's democracies: how to prevent institutions from being weakened from within without a formal rupture of the constitutional order. The Democratic Charter establishes that democracy is not limited to holding elections. It also includes elements such as respect for human rights, access to power in accordance with the rule of law, party pluralism, and the separation and independence of the branches of government. That is precisely the terrain on which Cossette López's warning is situated. Her message before the OAS points to the fact that contemporary risks to democracy may be less visible than a traditional coup d'état: they can arise through progressive erosions of controls, institutions, and spaces of political participation.