HomeNewsBriefDeadly Coastal Firefight Inaugurates Honduras' New President
BRIEF

Deadly Coastal Firefight Inaugurates Honduras' New President

HONDURAS / 27 JAN 2014 BY CHARLES PARKINSON EN

A firefight between security forces and a group of heavily armed suspected drug traffickers on Honduras' Caribbean coast left 2 killed and 12 captured, in a sign of the security challenges facing the country's new president, Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The incident occurred in the area of La Mosquitia in the Gracias a Dios province -- the country's eastern Caribbean tip along the so-called Mosquito Coast -- after the Honduran military acted on a tip from international anti-drug forces, reported La Prensa.

When soldiers entered the village of Plaplaya in the early hours of January 25, they exchanged fire with the suspects, leaving two of the alleged traffickers dead. While some of the suspects escaped, authorities did capture 12 men -- among them a Colombian and a Mexican national -- after a series of raids, which also turned up high-caliber weapons, radio equipment and $99,000 in cash, reported El Heraldo.

The captured men will all now face charges of conspiracy, drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons and attempted murder of government security forces, the news account noted.

InSight Crime Analysis

The bust highlights one of the major challenges faced by new President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who officially takes office today. Since 2009, Honduras has become an increasingly important drug trafficking hub and base of operations for international traffickers. Hernandez has pledged to enforce extradition in order to combat traffickers, yet whether any of the 12 captured will be high profile enough to warrant such action remains to be seen.

SEE ALSO: Honduras News and Profiles

The Mosquito Coast, which dominates the Nicaraguan Caribbean and stretches into Honduras, is a prime drug trafficking zone, popular among traffickers because its remoteness means there is little state presence.

The region is an important entry point for drug flights and drug-carrying boats entering the country. The US State Department estimates that 87 percent of cocaine smuggling flights departing South America land in Honduras. The presence of a Colombian and a Mexican national among the detainees points to the existence of international drug trafficking organizations operating in the region, which has previously been identified as a key handover point for Mexican and Colombian traffickers.

How Hernandez might seek to tame the violence and criminality along the coast remains to be seen, although he has been an active proponent of militarizing security

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 15 FEB 2022

With the arrest of former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández on drug charges, US prosecutors have brought down a powerful…

ELITES AND CRIME / 1 NOV 2022

Honduras has freed dozens of individuals tied to organized crime a year after reforming its money laundering law.

GUATEMALA / 8 DEC 2021

A transnational labor trafficking network brought dozens of individuals from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico to the United States under the…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.