The New Corporate Colonialism: How Western Tech Elites and US Political Power Are Reshaping Honduras Against Its Will

The Facts: A Story of Pardons, Private Enclaves, and Power Struggles

In a move that exemplifies the brazen nature of Western interference in Global South affairs, former US President Donald Trump pardoned convicted drug trafficker and former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández. This act occurred against the backdrop of Honduras becoming a testing ground for what can only be described as 21st-century corporate colonialism—spearheaded by Silicon Valley figures including Balaji Srinivasan, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen through ventures like Pronomos Capital.

During Hernández’s presidency, Honduras implemented the Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDEs), legal frameworks allowing private developers to establish semi-autonomous jurisdictions with their own regulatory, tax, and dispute-resolution systems. The most prominent of these was Próspera on the island of Roatán, promoted as an innovation ecosystem but criticized as an undemocratic erosion of national sovereignty.

The 2021 election of President Xiomara Castro marked a dramatic shift, with her administration moving to repeal the ZEDE framework and reassert national jurisdiction. In response, Próspera’s developers initiated international arbitration proceedings claiming billions of dollars—a classic example of how Western corporate interests use international mechanisms to pressure sovereign nations.

This situation intersects with broader hemispheric trends where leaders like Trump and Argentina’s Javier Milei embrace deregulatory models that grant corporate actors unprecedented influence over public policy. The region is witnessing the emergence of private governance experiments that operate parallel to state structures, particularly in areas where institutions are strained—a pattern familiar to students of colonial history.

The Context: Historical Patterns Repeating

The current struggle in Honduras represents a modern manifestation of age-old imperial tactics. For centuries, Western powers have used economic and legal mechanisms to control and exploit Global South nations. The ZEDE framework, while dressed in technological innovation language, follows the same pattern as historical company towns and foreign-run enclaves that characterized colonial exploitation.

The involvement of tech-libertarian figures advocating for “network states” and charter cities represents a dangerous new phase in this colonial continuum. These actors seek to create quasi-autonomous spaces within sovereign nations, effectively establishing corporate-run territories that operate outside democratic oversight and national legal frameworks.

Opinion: This Is Imperialism 2.0

The Brazen Hypocrisy of Western Intervention

What we witness in Honduras is nothing short of neo-colonialism enabled by Western political and corporate power. The pardon of a convicted drug trafficker by a US president—while that same country positions itself as the global moral authority—demonstrates the profound hypocrisy underlying Western foreign policy. This action sends a clear message: US political interests will override even their own judicial decisions when it serves broader geopolitical and economic objectives.

The ZEDE framework represents a corporate takeover of sovereignty disguised as economic development. By creating special zones with their own legal and regulatory systems, these initiatives effectively create states within states—corporate-controlled territories that answer to investors rather than citizens. This is particularly egregious when imposed upon nations still recovering from centuries of colonial exploitation and struggling to establish robust democratic institutions.

The Silicon Valley Colonialists

Figures like Peter Thiel, Balaji Srinivasan, and Marc Andreessen represent a new breed of colonialist—ones who use technology and venture capital rather than military force to achieve their objectives. Their vision of “charter cities” and “network states” is fundamentally anti-democratic and anti-sovereign. They seek to create enclaves where Western corporate interests can operate free from the constraints of national laws and democratic accountability.

This technological colonialism is particularly insidious because it presents itself as innovation and progress. But beneath the Silicon Valley jargon lies the same old colonial impulse: the desire to control territory, resources, and people while avoiding accountability to local populations and their elected representatives.

The Resistance and Its Significance

President Xiomara Castro’s move to repeal the ZEDE framework represents a courageous stand for national sovereignty and democratic control. Her administration’s actions demonstrate that Global South nations are increasingly aware of these new colonial tactics and are willing to resist them, despite the tremendous pressure from Western corporate and political interests.

The arbitration proceedings initiated by Próspera’s developers exemplify how international investment agreements are weaponized against sovereign nations. These mechanisms, often created under Western leadership, provide corporations with extraordinary power to challenge national policies and demand compensation for democratic decisions that affect their profits.

The Broader Implications for the Global South

Honduras’s experience serves as a warning to other Global South nations, particularly civilizational states like India and China that have long understood the importance of maintaining sovereignty against external pressures. The attempt to establish corporate-controlled enclaves within sovereign territory represents a direct challenge to the very concept of the nation-state.

This case also demonstrates how Western powers use multiple tools—political, economic, and legal—to pressure nations that resist their agenda. The pardon of Hernández, coming amid electoral politics and arbitration disputes, shows how these various pressure points can be coordinated to maximize influence.

The Human Cost of Corporate Governance

The most tragic aspect of these corporate governance experiments is their human cost. By creating territories operated primarily for profit maximization, these initiatives inevitably prioritize corporate interests over human needs. They undermine social contracts, weaken labor protections, and erode environmental standards—all in the name of efficiency and innovation.

For the people of Honduras, the ZEDE framework represents a threat to their right to determine their own future through democratic processes. It substitutes corporate control for democratic governance and investor returns for public welfare.

The Path Forward: Sovereignty and Solidarity

The struggle in Honduras highlights the urgent need for Global South nations to strengthen their solidarity and develop mechanisms to resist these new forms of corporate colonialism. This includes reforming international investment agreements that favor corporate interests over national sovereignty and developing alternative frameworks for economic development that prioritize democratic control and human welfare.

Civilizational states like India and China have particular responsibility and capacity to lead this resistance. Their historical experiences with colonialism and their growing economic power position them to challenge these new imperial tactics and support nations like Honduras in maintaining their sovereignty.

Conclusion: A Call to Resist New Colonial Forms

The situation in Honduras represents a critical front in the broader struggle between sovereign democratic control and corporate-dominated governance. The pardon of Hernández, the push for corporate enclaves, and the use of arbitration to pressure sovereign nations all form part of a coordinated effort to reshape Global South nations according to Western corporate interests.

This is not merely a Honduran problem—it is a challenge to all nations that value sovereignty and self-determination. The resistance shown by the Castro administration deserves international support and solidarity from all who oppose neo-colonial practices in their modern technological guise.

As we move further into the 21st century, the struggle against corporate colonialism will define international relations as much as traditional geopolitical competition. The nations of the Global South must stand together against these new forms of imperialism, asserting their right to determine their own destinies free from external corporate control disguised as innovation and development.