Honduras Próspera Inc., the U.S. promoter and organizer of Próspera ZEDE, is protected by a 50-year legal stability guarantee for its investments under international and Honduran law. Honduras Próspera remains committed to exercising its clear legal right to create 10,000 new Honduran jobs and draw US$500m in foreign investment to Honduras by 2025.

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Nevertheless, this week, Congressman Luis Redondo asserted that ZEDEs approved before April 2022 cannot legally operate and have never legally operated. We regret the unfounded opinion by Mr. Redondo. Mr. Redondo’s statement does not represent an act of the National Congress of Honduras nor even an opinion of the National Congress. It is not supported by any congressional vote.

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If meant to apply to Próspera, there is good reason to doubt that Mr. Redondo’s statement represents the position of the Administration of President Xiomara Castro. Mr. Redondo is not a member of the Libre Party; and the Castro Administration has repeatedly stated it is committed to respecting the Rule of Law and improving the foreign direct investment climate in Honduras to create more and better jobs.

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Próspera’s investment framework was sustained as constitutional by the Honduran Supreme Court not just once, but on multiple occasions. It was implemented by at least six legislative decrees and at least three executive decrees over ten years. The legal stability of Próspera is guaranteed for at least 50 years by legal stability agreements, international treaties, and Honduran law. No investment in Honduras can be regarded as secure if these guarantees are not honored.

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Legal stability and certainty is a prerequisite for large-scale, long-term investments in the hundreds of millions of dollars, as planned by Honduras Próspera. In order to draw new foreign investment to Honduras at a scale never-before-seen, Próspera investors have been deploying a business model of delivering high integrity, high efficiency rule-of-law governance, which meets or exceeds U.S. and international anticorruption and other standards. This business model now directly or indirectly employs over 1100 local Hondurans and sustains nearly 100 innovative Honduran and international businesses.

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It is time for reasonable people to prevail. Honduras Próspera remains willing to pursue a constructive dialogue with the Honduran government to find a mutually advantageous solution to any existing differences which would also be an opportunity for Honduras to enhance competitiveness, foster creativity and innovation, create opportunities for economic and social development, and enhance worker’s rights, among other goals of the CAFTA-DR, and which would send a positive message to other international investors and institutions.