ILLICIT TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS IN HONDURAS, THROUGH THE LIGHT OF THE PROTECTED LEGAL INTEREST

Abstract

This study examines the criminal offense of illicit trafficking of persons contained in article 297 of the Honduran Criminal Code, a transnational crime that violates the fundamental rights of vulnerable groups and, due to its global impact, demands treatment with due diligence. The study explores the normative and jurisprudential gap in the explicit delimitation of the protected legal interest, which complicates the determination of the passive subject or victim and the assessment of unlawfulness in this criminal offense. The analysis is developed in light of international human rights standards through the control of conventionality. Given the nature of the study, a qualitative approach of a hermeneutic, documentary, and descriptive character is adopted, typical of pure legal research, based exclusively on the study of doctrine, jurisprudence, and national, comparative, and international regulations. Furthermore, its purpose is propositional, aimed at providing doctrinal and jurisprudential foundations to harmonize the Honduran penal system with international human rights standards. The preliminary results reveal that doctrine recognizes the plurioffensive nature of the protected legal interest in the criminal offense of illicit trafficking in persons, encompassing state sovereignty and the human rights of migrants.