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