TFH01: DISARMAMENT DECREE CONTINUED AS CRIME

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001283

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PHUM HO
SUBJECT: TFH01: DISARMAMENT DECREE CONTINUED AS CRIME
INCREASES

REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 1268

B. TEGUCIGALPA 1217

C. TEGUCIGALPA 1114


1. (SBU) Summary: The de facto regime will keep in effect
through January 2010 the disarmament decree it enacted on
November 21. Violent crime continues to rise in Honduras and
its rate is the highest in Latin America. Honduran police
believe trans-national gangs have taken advantage of the
country's political crisis to intensify its activities. The
Honduran national police has largely abandoned its fight
against international crime and deployed most of its
resources to Tegucigalpa in an effort to maintain order and
repress the opposition. End Summary.


2. (SBU) In a follow-up to Ref B, the Embassy has confirmed
that the disarmament decree enacted by the de facto regime on
November 21, days before the November 29 general election,
will remain in effect through January 2010 to counter the
significant rise in violent crime that has taken place in

2009. Despite the decree, however, violence has continued,
contrary to de facto regime claims to the press. On December
6 alone, over 20 people were killed in incidents of violence,
a figure police contacts have called "unprecedented." On
December 8, gunmen on motorcycles assassinated Honduran
Anti-Narcotics police director Aristides Gonzalez in a
daytime attack in Tegucigalpa, only blocks away from the U.S.
Embassy and the Security Ministry (Ref A). And in a
separate, unrelated incident, retired Colonel Osiris
O'Connor, co-owner of a large security company and cousin of
de facto regime leader Micheletti was murdered in a rural
area of Colon Department. Police analysts informed Embassy
employee they do not believe O'Connor's murder was
politically motivated, but expressed concern that it was the
third killing of a private security company owner in a short
time span. They also noted the passenger in O'Connor's car
at the time was the father of a local 18th Street Gang
leader.


3. (SBU) Overall, violent crime continues to increase. UNDP
is projecting the 2009 homicide rate will exceed 60 per
100,000 population, up from a 2008 rate of 58 per 200,000,
which was the highest in Latin AMERICA and one of the highest
in the world. Anti-gang police have told Embassy employees
they believe the transnational gangs have taken advantage of
the Honduran political crisis to wage a gang war over
territorial control (Ref C). The Honduran national police
has largely abandoned its fight against international crime
and deployed most of its resources to Tegucigalpa in an
effort to maintain order and repress the opposition. Embassy
employees have seen significant reductions in police staffing
at border control posts and neighborhood police precincts,
and the Director of the National Police Academy informed
Embassy employee that the Academy was not conducting training
of recruits during the crisis, all in order to redirect
personnel to controlling demonstrations.
LLORENS