– Accounts blocked –
The US accusations and sanctions have rocked Honduras, which had long perceived its wealthiest families to be untouchable. That held especially true for the Rosenthals: Jaime Rosenthal was vice-president of the country from 1986 to 1989; his son Yani was a minister in the government from 2006 to 2009.
Although the crocodile farm was not one of the seven Rosenthal businesses designated for US sanctions, it has found itself caught up in the freeze affecting other parts of the business empire.
An official at Honduras’ state Forest Conservation Institute (ICF), Pablo Dubon, said the executives running Cocodrilos Continental told authorities the freezing of the Rosenthals’ assets led to the accounts used to pay the workers and buy animal feed being blocked.
Dubon said the municipality and animal protection groups were working on an emergency plan to temporarily care for the animals while a permanent solution was found. One option was to have the employees work for food while the legal status of the farm was assessed.
A week ago, the ICF delivered 1.5 tons (3,000 pounds) of chicken meat to the farm but workers refused to feed it to the animals until they were paid their monthly wages of $340 each.
“The 3,000 pounds doesn’t amount to much because a crocodile eats the equivalent of half a horse in a day,” said Jose, the worker at the gate.
“But at least something is being done,” he added.
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