Winston and Accenture Secure Asylum for Honduran who Fled to the U.S. After a Gang Killed his Family

In partnership with our commercial client Accenture, Winston lawyers helped secure asylum for a pro bono client who fled Honduras after a vicious gang massacred six members of his family because his father would not hand over their land.

Our client grew up on a farm in a small Honduran village in a region known as the “wild west” of Honduras. The region’s reputation is due, in part, to rampant criminal gangs that engage in illegal logging and drug trafficking.

A regional gang, Los Amadores, desired his family’s land because they wanted to cultivate drugs on it and build an airplane landing strip for drug smuggling. The gang began threatening to kill his family if they did not turn over their land when our client was 10 years old. When he was 18, the gang followed through on its repeated threats and murdered his entire family, including his mother and father, three siblings, and a visiting grandfather. Our client escaped the massacre because he was visiting a friend.

Word soon spread, however, that gang members were searching the countryside for our client and were determined to murder him too. Fearing for his life, our client fled to the U.S., arriving in the fall of 2020.

During the four years that his case has been pending, our client has established a life for himself in the United States, with a stable job and home. He is also mentored by a Catholic priest, Father Chris.

The Winston team that helped our client obtain asylum and safety includes Chicago lawyers Ryan Bradley, Michael Roche, Annie Steiner, and Emma Sutton. The Accenture team included Paul Steinke and Suzanne Ritzler.

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