HONDURAS SEIZES 122 MORE KILOS OF COCAINE; 2004

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000792 SIPDIS STATE FOR INL/LP AND WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2014 TAGS: SNAR PGOV KCRM KJUS SOCI HO SUBJECT: HONDURAS SEIZES 122 MORE KILOS OF COCAINE; 2004 TOTAL IS UP TO APPROXIMATELY 2,356 KILOS REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 751 ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 665 Classified By: Ambassador Larry L. Palmer; Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) On April 3, Honduran authorities confiscated approximately 108 kilos of cocaine and arrested Luis Armando Juarez Pineda (46) at a make-shift check point police established at Bonito Oriental in the Department of Colon on the Caribbean coast. The cocaine was discovered hidden in a false compartment of a truck. An accompanying vehicle carrying three other passengers escaped. Police also seized numerous firearms from the truck. The operation was conducted by the Preventative Police and the Frontier Police, who have been cooperating in an unprecedented manner. ¶2. (C) Police were alerted to the movement of the cocaine by a confidential informant. There has been speculation that the April 4 execution-style murder of five individuals in San Pedro Sula is related to other recent cocaine seizures (refs A and B),although Post has been unable to confirm this. ¶3. (U) In an unrelated incident, on April 1, local Tela police on Honduras' Caribbean north coast seized another 14 kilos of cocaine from a pick-up truck after its occupants tried to force their way through a roadblock by opening fire on the police. The vehicle's four occupants escaped on foot, although three were later apprehended. The identities of the detained individuals have yet to be released. ¶4. (U) This seizure, combined with previous seizures (refs A and B),brings the total amount of cocaine seized in Honduras in 2004 to approximately 2,356 kilos. ¶5. (U) According to Honduran press reports, another 188 kilos of cocaine were seized by Costa Rican authorities at a border check-point in Penas Blancas. The cocaine was discovered sealed in a hidden compartment of a truck with Honduran license plates. Post would appreciate any information that Embassy San Jose has on this seizure. PALMER