HomeNewsBriefUS Restarts Radar Intelligence Sharing with Honduras
BRIEF

US Restarts Radar Intelligence Sharing with Honduras

HONDURAS / 26 NOV 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

The United States has restarted a program to share radar intelligence with Honduras, more than three months after the technology was withdrawn when the air force shot down suspected drug planes.

Intelligence sharing began again on November 19, following what US Embassy spokesperson Stephen Posivak called an "exhaustive review" of the downing of two suspect aircraft in July, reported La Prensa.

Honduras’ decision to shoot down the two planes, contravening an agreement it has with the United States, caused Washington to suspend the sharing of radar intelligence on August 18. The incidents also cost the head of the country’s air force his job.

According to La Prensa, Honduras has promised not to shoot down suspected drug flights. Posivak stated that Honduras has also revised its operating procedures in order to improve communication with air force pilots.

InSight Crime Analysis

The restarting of the intelligence sharing program was expected. A month after the withdrawal of radar technology, the US ambassador to Honduras, Lisa Kubiske, said that the program would be restarted soon. A month later, on October 14, the head of Honduras’ armed forces said that intelligence sharing would be started “no later than next week.”

Honduras is a principal transit point for drug flights from South America, with the US State Department estimating that 79 percent of all drug flights in the region pass through the country. The removal of radar monitoring of these flights likely led to an increase in clandestine traffic. Ramon Custodio, the head of Honduras' human rights commission, Conadeh, declared the country to be "open skies for drug trafficking" following the move, warning that drug flights had almost doubled since the previous year.

The extensive review process by US authorities is in line with the United States’ desire to continue with counter-narcotics operations in Honduras with greater caution, as InSight Crime has learned.

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

COCA / 19 APR 2022

Coca farms and cocaine production camps are proliferating in Honduras, showing that the illicit crop has taken root in the…

EL SALVADOR / 13 DEC 2021

Efforts to reduce gang violence are often thought of as highly dependent on local conditions, but a recent report looks…

ELITES AND CRIME / 10 MAR 2022

The arrest and possible extradition of a former Honduras police chief suspected of drug trafficking could provide explosive evidence in…

About InSight Crime

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.

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,…