Honduran activist Jose Lagos dies in Miami

Jose Lagos, a self-styled political activist from Honduras and a longtime fighter in South Florida's myriad immigration causes, died Sunday of cancer at Jackson Memorial Hospital, his family said. He was 45.

``My brother was very special: He was a humane man and a good leader,'' said Burij Muchnik, Lagos' half-brother, 58, a physician assistant.

As director of the nonprofit Honduran Unity, Lagos was visible on South Florida streets and at news conferences -- almost always clad in a classy suit. He sought to advance not just the rights of his fellow Hondurans and other Hispanics. He also expanded his advocacy work to include Haitians.

``He was a unifer,'' said Jean-Robert Lafortune, president of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition. ``His cause was not focused on the Honduran people but on the whole South Florida mosaic of immigrants.''

Lagos was born April 11, 1964 in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa where he attended a Catholic high school. In 1985, Lagos and his family relocated to Miami, and he would soon enroll at Miami-Dade Community College. He left with an associate's degree in business administration.

Lagos and his family did what they had to get by. They sold hotdogs from carts in downtown Miami.

In 1990, Lagos started to focus on immigration-related work, working as the executive director of an association that helped medical school graduates from other countries obtain their physician's license.

Years later, he would focus full-time on helping immigrants. In 1997, Lagos and Muchnik formed Honduran Unity. The nonprofit was the springboard on which they launched their advocacy work. They protested fee hikes for immigrants applying for citizenship or temporary work permits. They alerted immigrants to scams claiming to help applicants secure visas. And they organized charities.

Federal immigration policies were once known for pitting some groups against others in South Florida. But immigration advocates say Lagos was instrumental in showing Hispanic and Haitians the strength in joining forces. In recent years, Lagos teamed up with Haiti advocates in their fight for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.

``It's taken a lot of work to bridge that gap but Jose was instrumental in making a lot of gains in that regard,'' said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in Miami. ``He felt all immigrants should be treated fairly and justly.''

A year ago, doctors diagnosed Lagos with cancer. Therapy followed with radiation and chemotherapy. But he always found time for his cause.

In July, a visibly ill Lagos and scores of others rallied outside a Little Havana church. They protested the imminent suspension of international aid to Honduras, which they argued hurt everyday people. The aid was yanked anyway.

That same cause -- the support for a de facto government that he and many South Florida exiles believed was a symbol that opposed the region's rise of populism -- carried him to the end. Lagos died at 4:27 p.m. Sunday, the same day voters in Honduras and in the United States cast their ballots in hopes of a new beginning for the Central American nation.

Lagos is survived by a sister, Josela, and five half-brothers and -sisters, among them Muchnik.

Funeral services are pending.


Source: miamiherald.com/