Drug confiscations in Honduras for 2009 already exceed 2008

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000249

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV KJUS EAID MOPS MARR HO
SUBJECT: Drug confiscations in Honduras for 2009 already exceed 2008
totals

REF: Tegucigalpa 64


1. (SBU) Summary: During the first quarter of 2009 USG-supported
joint Honduran antinarcotics forces have confiscated more drugs and
vehicles than in all of calendar year 2008. Many of the cases have
garnered broad press attention, and have sparked increased
discussion of the trafficking issue in Honduran society. As of
March 25 2009, joint forces confiscated over 2,250 kilos of cocaine,
145 rocks of crack, over 600,000 pharmacy-strength pseudoephedrine
(PSE) pills, 329 pounds of marijuana and 1,191 marijuana cigarettes
in parallel operations. These operations also seized two aircraft,
five fast boats and two automobiles. The GOH also reports that
over 120 suspects were detained in these operations. In addition to
these seizures within Honduran territory, the Honduran-flagged
vessel "Miss Siloe" was seized with over 3,000 kilos of cocaine on
board on March 8 in international waters by a U.S. Coast Guard
cutter with the assistance of a Honduran ship-rider. In various
other drug boat seizures in international waters, the GOH has also
been forthcoming in waiving jurisdiction to enable prosecution of
Honduran nationals and Honduran-registered vessels. Other suspected
large shipments were tracked, but not intercepted, highlighting the
need for continued USG support and capacity-building efforts. End
summary.


2. (SBU) On January 27, 2009 (Reftel),a Venezuelan-registered
Cessna YV2028 that had been identified early in the day through the
U.S.-led inter-agency, multilateral information-sharing effort as a
suspect craft landed in Utila, Bay Islands at 11 p.m. The
five-person local National Police (HNP) force, alerted by the
trackers, intercepted the plane and engaged a larger, better-armed
trafficking force for four hours until Honduran naval support was
able to arrive on the scene. The joint effort netted the aircraft,
two fast boats, a motorcycle, and 66 packages containing over 1,600
kilograms of cocaine.
On February 21, 2009, a Venezuelan-registered Cessna 441-0022 was
intercepted by a joint Honduran force at a private landing strip in
the village of Farallones, Municipality of Limon, Colon. When the
police arrived at the scene, the perpetrators were in the process of
leaving the area in two boats. Among the items intercepted were the
plane, two vehicles, two fast boats, 40 kegs of gasoline, batteries,
generators, hoses, cable for electrical wiring, one 8 foot long
boat, one 28-foot long boat.


3. (SBU) On March 8, 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard, assisted by a
Honduran shiprider, intercepted in international waters a boat with
Honduran flag by the name of "Miss Siloe" (also known as Navegante
del Mar),registry No. U-1828063, designed for general cargo. The
boat's stated port of departure was Puerto Punto in Venezuela and
was destined for Honduras. Over 3,000 kilos of cocaine were found
in its hull and seven Honduran nationals were detained.


4. (SBU) On March 9, 2009, a Venezuelan-registered Cessna TE155
crashed and burned in El Negrito, Department of Yoro while being
tracked by the U.S.-led joint multilateral task force. The plane
had Venezuelan flag, tail TE155, model 95C55. When the Honduran
joint intercept force arrived ten minutes after the crash, the plane
and its contents were already engulfed in flames. Nonetheless, 100
kilos of cocaine were recovered. A completely burned body was also
found in the plane, presumably the person who piloted the aircraft.



5. (SBU) The HNP Special Investigative Services at Toncontin
International Airport in Tegucigalpa seized a two-part shipment
including over 600,000 PSE pills comingled among 32 boxes of
medicines on March 19-20. The pills represented a total PSE content
of 148.9 kilos, three times the annual Honduran national consumption
for licit purposes. According to the shipping documents, the
chemicals originated in Bangladesh and traversed three other
countries en route to Honduras. The stated destination of the
shipment was a single pharmacy in Tegucigalpa.


6. (U) In one of the most widely-reported cases of the year, a
Honduran-registered Cessna single-engine aircraft (tail no. HRAVC)
carrying 450 kilos of cocaine landed on an airstrip in the
Pacific-coast Department of Choluteca and was captured by local HNP
forces. The two Honduran national crew were arrested. Upon
questioning, they stated their flight began in Panama, destined for
San Pedro Sula, but had been forced to make the emergency landing in
Choluteca when the aircraft ran out of fuel.


7. (SBU) On March 24, a joint Honduran force seized a go-fast boat
in Honduran waters near Cauquira, Gracias a Dios. Honduran
authorities seized four kilos of cocaine, over USD 582,000 in U.S.
currency, small arms and the vessel. The crew of three Honduran
nationals and three foreign nationals were detained. The capture
came only one week after Honduran naval forces had repositioned
naval assets in the area in coordination with U.S. DEA personnel.


8. (SBU) On March 29-30, two suspect aircraft were tracked entering
Honduran air space hours apart by the U.S.-led joint, multilateral
task force. In both cases, the aircraft landed at remote sites in
the Gracias a Dios Department. An organized team of approximately
50 like-dressed personnel accompanied by a cadre armed with assault
rifles were observed offloading packages from the first aircraft.
The joint Honduran task force was in range to intercept, but
determined they did not have sufficient numbers or arms to engage
such a large, well-armed opponent. The second, larger aircraft
passed over the first landing site and descended to a nearby
airfield out of the effective range of the joint Honduran task
force. TAT Honduras assesses that the two aircraft were working in
tandem. There were indications that the two aircraft were from the
same drug trafficking organization. Such large, sophisticated and
coordinated operations have not before been observed in Honduran
territory.


9. (SBU) Comment: The increase in successful seizures in 2009 is the
fruit of years of interagency and multilateral labor to build open,
rapid lines of communication and develop the necessary Honduran
interagency response units to act on that communication. While the
March 29-30 case underline the fact that more capacity-building and
development of trust between the various GOH security elements is
still needed, the recent interdiction successes reflect what can be
accomplished through collaborative efforts, as well as the
willingness of the GOH to take an active role in defending their
territory against traffickers. If the larger, more organized
operation observed March 29-30 represents a trend, we will have to
step up interdiction and support efforts even further. End
comment.

Henshaw