GANGS IN HONDURAS (C-CN5-00136) - RESPONSES TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000586

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, DRL/PHD, AND DS
STATE FOR INL, INL/LP, INR/I, INR/C, INR/AN/IAA, EB, AND CA
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN AND DCHA/DG/ROL
DEA FOR NTRM/BERGMANN
DOJ FOR NDIC/ORGANIZED CRIME AND VIOLENCE UNIT (LCASALE)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PINR PGOV SNAR SOCI PHUM SMIG ASEC HO
SUBJECT: GANGS IN HONDURAS (C-CN5-00136) - RESPONSES TO
WASHINGTON QUESTIONS

REF: A. STATE 31336


B. TEGUCIGALPA 261

C. 04 TEGUCIGALPA 2874

D. 04 TEGUCIGALPA 2841

E. 04 STATE 227915

F. 04 TEGUCIGALPA 1843 AND PREVIOUS

G. 04 SAN SALVADOR 2232


1. (SBU) This cable responds to questions raised in ref A:


A. (SBU) The Annual Report of the International Narcotics
Control Board, released March 2, specifically states that "In
countries in Central America, many youth gangs have become
involved in violent crime and drug trafficking." See
http://www.incb.org/e/ind ar.htn (paragraph 268) for the text
of the report. DEA/Tegucigalpa sees gangs involved buying
and selling drugs at the retail street level. Occasionally,
DEA gets info that organized drug trafficking organizations
use street level gang members for contract killings or other
types of dirty jobs so that organized groups can distance
themselves from the actual violent act. Gang members obtain
their drugs from either organized groups or other
street-level distributors. Their relationship to their
suppliers can be difficult to determine. If suppliers are
family members or they have established long-term
relationships within underworld circles, their connections
will be close. Gangs have been involved with local
distribution. DEA has not seen narcotrafficking cells
organized within strictly gang circles for cross-border
trafficking in Central America.


B. (SBU) National Party presidential nominee Porfirio "Pepe"
Lobo took a strong upswing in the polls after the December
23, 2004 bus massacre of 28 people in San Pedro Sula,
allegedly committed by the Mara Salvatrucha. Lobo never
trailed again following the massacre, and crested to a
landslide victory on February 20 over Tegucigalpa Mayor
Miguel Pastor. Contrary to some worries, there were no
violent incidents by gang members on election day. Lobo is
likely to continue to use the gang issue to his advantage in
his race against Liberal Party nominee Mel Zelaya. Crime,
including the gang issue, vies with economic concerns,
including unemployment, for the top concern of Hondurans in
polls.


C. (U) New amendments to the penal code specifically aimed at
increasing punishments for gang-related crimes were passed by
Congress January 20, ratified by Congress February 17, signed
by the president, and were published March 15 in La Gaceta
(akin to the Federal Register). They are now in effect.
Post has not yet analyzed these changes. President Ricardo
Maduro's pledge to provide the police with more resources
following the 12/23/04 massacre has yet to be fulfilled. The
GOH formally requested that the Government of Taiwan provide
USD 1 million for vehicles and motorcycles for the police.
This request is currently pending. In general, the Ministry
of Public Security is under-funded and under-resourced.


D. (U) The Honduran police and prosecutors, and to a lesser
extent the judiciary, are focused on fighting the gang
problem, but they have had mixed results. All three
institutions lack resources, personnel, and are subject to
corruption and political influence. A sense of progress in
the "war on gangs" dissipated in the wake of the 12/23/04 bus
massacre.


E. (SBU) DEA/Tegucigalpa has not seen inter-regional cells
aligned under particular gang affiliations operating across
borders. RSO notes that gangs have in the past coordinated
safe passage to other countries when they were wanted by
local law enforcement in order to seek refuge in another
country. The best example is that one of the suspected
leaders of the 12/23/04 bus massacre fled to the U.S. to
attempt to hide amongst MS-13 members in Los Angeles. This
gang member was assisted by alien smugglers and other gang
members to make his way to the U.S. border. Only through
coordination between the Embassy and U.S. law enforcement was
this person apprehended in Texas. It is also believed that
gang members in the U.S. will send money back to Central
America to help fund various activities or to help pay legal
fees for a detained gang member.


F. (U) Post has no further updates on these aspects at
present.
Palmer