The conflict that has pitted Próspera against the Honduran government for several years has entered a new phase of conflict, due to the closure of the bitcoin citadel by local authorities.
The gates of the Employment and Economic Development Zone (ZEDE) located on the island of Roatán They were closed since October 14 by the Mayor’s Office of Roatánalleging non-payment of 12 million lempiras (USD 480,000) in taxes. An action that Honduras Próspera, the company that manages the citadel, has been classified as illegal.
“We are months behind on Próspera and we have to enforce the laws,” Roatán Mayor Ron Mcnab told the media, ensuring that They do not recognize Próspera as another nation or countrynor as an independent area. “I recognize them as bad investors, who do not even pay for their operation, construction and environmental permits,” he noted. This, while authorizing armed police officers to close the central building of the citadel, where administrative activities are carried out.
The Próspera team defends itself and points out have complied with the regulations and requirements of the authorities. “All our operations complied 100% with legal requirements, including the corresponding taxes,” they assure in a statement where they ratify their autonomy as an economic space independent of the government.
Compliance with the laws was ratified by the technical secretary of the Prosperous Zone for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDE), Jorge Colindres, while claiming to the agents who were in charge of the closure. The manager expressed his annoyance with the procedure, remembering that the ZEDE They have authorization to operate for 50 yearsaccording to international treaties signed by the Honduran government 10 years ago.
«The ZEDEs enjoy constitutional autonomy in matters of financial regulation and supervision, as established in art. 329 of the Constitution, 2 and 30 of the Organic Law of the ZEDE and art. 17-A of the Financial System Law,” observes Colindres, insisting that the citadel is protected by numerous legal frameworks at the national and international level.
As CriptoNoticias has reported, the conflict between Próspera and the Honduran government occurred in January 2022, when Xiomara Castro assumed the presidency of the country, raising theto repeal the Law that allows the operation of the ZEDE. From that moment on, the president expressed her disagreement with these autonomous spaces. because it considers that they violate sovereignty.
In 2023, Próspera authorities decided to choose bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender and unit of account, making the ZEDE in a new citadel, inspired by the example of Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador. Although it has more similarities with the Bitcoin City project announced by Nayib Bukele.
The private city located in the Caribbean of Honduras believes that bitcoin aligns with its purposes to promote financial freedom and they have been working with this vision with the community in the area, in the midst of government threats. But the situation began to worsen last September, when the country’s Supreme Court of Justice made the decision to repeal the ZEDE considering them unconstitutional.
The so-called charter city, whose origin dates back to 2011, began construction at the beginning of 2021. It is a small portion of land north of the island of Roatán that was transferred by the government to the company, through a law signed by former president Juan Hernández (2014-2022).
Now, with the closure of the spaces, the Bitcoin City of Honduras enters a legal limbo. There is no date for the reopening of activities, says Colindres, and it is possible that the ZEDE administration company will give new impetus to the lawsuit he filed more than a year ago against the government, for USD 11,000 million. He is currently in international arbitration.
While they wait for the solution to the conflict, the gates of the citadel will remain closed. Colindres and the Próspera board are also betting for the entry of a new government in about 15 months, after new elections are held in Honduras in November 2025.
