HomeNewsBriefHonduras, Russia to Sign Pact To Strengthen Drug Fight
BRIEF

Honduras, Russia to Sign Pact To Strengthen Drug Fight

HONDURAS / 7 SEP 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

Russia and Honduras are drafting a bi-latertal agreement to strengthen the Central American nation's fight against drug trafficking.

The Honduran vice-president, Victor Hugo Barnica, announced on September 5 that Honduras and Russia will sign an anti-drug trafficking agreement in the coming days to help with the Central American state's fight against narcotics trafficking, reported El Heraldo.

"[Russia] is going to help us in the fight against drug trafficking organizations," Barnica declared. This help will come primarily in the form of financial assistance from Russia, though the agreement will also facilitate the sharing of anti-narcotics strategies between the two nations, Barnica added.

InSight Crime Analysis

Honduras is one of the primary transit nations in Central America for South American cocaine, with over 80 percent of US-bound cocaine estimated to pass through the country. It's role as a transit nation for narcotics heading east is far less, however, with the majority of the European-bound trade run through Venezuela. This makes Russia's stake in the agreement with Honduras curious.

One factor explaining the pact could be the desire of Russia to combat Russian criminal organizations in the region. Last year, La Tribuna reported that the Russian Mafia, operating out of Florida, was trafficking arms through Honduras in exchange for cocaine shipments, presumably to later distribute in the US.

Evidence of Russian gang activity in Honduras has been thin since the report, with more reports placing Russian criminals in South American nations such as Ecuador. However, the announcement by the Dominican Republic in July that Russian criminal groups were operating in their country points to these groups having a share of the trade running through Central America and the Caribbean, despite the majority of it being run by Mexican and Colombian gangs.

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.

Tags

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 / 5 NOV 2021

US prosecutors have charged an alleged MS13 leader in Honduras and another man thought to be one of his main…

CHILE / 25 AUG 2021

A series of seizures and drug raids across Latin America have revealed how previously niche high-strength marijuana products are establishing…

CARIBBEAN / 11 FEB 2022

Latin American countries scored poorly on Transparency International’s latest corruption index, with the worst joining the ranks of war-torn nations…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

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.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…