HONDURAN GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO 12/23 BUS MASSACRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 002844

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN
STATE FOR INL/LP, S/CT, INR/IAA, AND CA/OCS/ACS/WHA
STATE FOR DS/ITA (KHALL) AND DS/IP/WHA (MFLYNN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2014
TAGS: KCRM PGOV SNAR KJUS PHUM ASEC CASC KSAC HO
SUBJECT: HONDURAN GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO 12/23 BUS MASSACRE
OF 28 PEOPLE; MARA SALVATRUCHA GANG BELIEVED RESPONSIBLE

REF: USDAO TEGUCIGALPA 241424Z DEC 04

Classified By: Ambassador Larry Palmer;
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: The Government of Honduras reacted with
outrage and aggressive law enforcement efforts in the wake of
the massacre of 28 people in a bus in San Pedro Sula December

23. The military is assisting the police by boosting joint
patrols, and police have arrested several suspects accused of
being involved in the massacre. Despite claims by the
culprits that they were a revolutionary group, police believe
the Mara Salvatrucha gang to be responsible for the attack.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) The Government of Honduras reacted with outrage and
aggressive law enforcement efforts in the wake of the
massacre of 28 people and wounding of an equal number on a
bus in the northern city of San Pedro Sula the evening of
December 23. President Ricardo Maduro has been visiting
victims and meeting with his ministers directing the GOH's
anti-crime efforts, including the implementation of the
anti-gang law. Both he and Minister of Public Security Oscar
Alvarez have criticized human rights organizations for not
expressing outrage at the violence and for repeatedly
questioning the GOH's get tough policy on gangs. Cardinal
Oscar Rodriguez of the Catholic Church, meanwhile, has urged
the GOH not to go overboard in its reaction to the massacre.
There are now approximately 3,000 military members assisting
the police through joint patrols, including deploying several
armored vehicles in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. Joint
police/military patrols have been expanded and they are
stepping up searches of public buses. The President has also
instructed the Minister of Finance to shift resources to
boost the police budget.


3. (SBU) The perpetrators claimed to be members of the
"Chinchoneros Popular Liberation Front/Movement," a 1980s
communist terrorist organization that conducted armed robbery
and kidnappings in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in the
1980s, including holding 85 hostages before fleeing to Cuba
in a 1982 incident. However, the fact that: the culprits
spelled the name "Cinchonero" instead of "Chinchonero," the
group has been defunct for years, the victims were apparently
random civilians on a public bus, and the manifesto left by
the group (which has not been made public) criticized moves
toward a possible reinstatement of the death penalty, all
lead observers to believe this supposed group was not
responsible.


4. (SBU) In fact, police believe the Mara Salvatrucha gang to
be responsible for the attack and have arrested several
suspects accused of being involved in the massacre. (Note:
There is conflicting information on the exact number of
suspects arrested. Estimates range from four to nine. End
Note.) A Mara Salvatrucha gang leader, Darwin Alexis Ramirez
Hernandez, is under arrest in the San Pedro Sula prison as
the principal suspect in the attack. Police believe that the
attack may have been planned in Comayagua. EmbOffs are
seeking more detailed information from police, including the
text of the manifesto.


5. (U) There were no American citizens killed or injured in
the attack. The Peace Corps has taken appropriate measures
concerning the safety of its volunteers near San Pedro Sula.
RSO and ECON will be sending a short message to the American
business community instructing companies how to contact the
security office with any questions.


6. (C) Comment: The attack was brutal even by the standards
of San Pedro Sula, a city with one of the highest murder
rates in Latin America and a history of grizzly slayings of
multiple persons at once. Post's initial assessment is that
the GOH is likely correct in attributing responsibility for
the attack to gangs, given past senseless violent acts
committed by gang members to send messages to the GOH.
Barring evidence to the contrary, Post does not believe this
was the action of a terrorist organization.


7. (C) Comment continued: The attack plays into the hands of
the campaign of National Party presidential candidate and
President of Congress Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, currently
trailing Tegucigalpa Mayor Miguel Pastor in the lead-up to
the February primary election. In fact, one scurrilous rumor
even claims Lobo orchestrated the attack to boost his
campaign. Lobo, whose campaign is focused on crime, has been
taking a draconian line against crime, advocating a
reinstatement of the death penalty, and is closely associated
with the GOH's ongoing "get tough" crime policy, including
the anti-gang law. Pastor has taken a more nuanced approach
to attacking crime that includes rehabilitation and can only
hope not to lose ground. An unpublished October 30 poll had
Pastor leading Lobo by only 10 percent among Nationalists.
The same poll, conducted in late November, has Pastor leading
Lobo by over 20 percent. Lobo is likely to close the gap
again when the next poll is completed in the aftermath of the
massacre. End Comment.
Palmer