US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA2081

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002081 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, DRL/PHD, INL/LP, AND DS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, SNAR, KCRM, KJUS, ASEC, HO 
SUBJECT: THIRTEEN MURDERED, MANY OTHERS WOUNDED, AS GANG 
MEMBERS OPEN FIRE ON BUSES IN SAN PEDRO SULA 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 1938 
 
     B. TEGUCIGALPA 1904 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: On August 30, in three separate attacks in 
different neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula, Hoduras' 
commercial center, gang members randomly opened fire on three 
"rapidito" small buses killing 13 and wounding over thirty 
others.  All three buses appear to be owned by the same 
transportation company.  Police have four suspects in custody 
and are searching for two others. Initial press and police 
reports indicate that these gang members were hired by a 
rival bus company owner to scare others off from using a 
competitor's buses.  On September 1, rumors circulating that 
gang members had opened fire on a school, killing three 
children, set off a general panic in the city as parents 
raced to schools to collect their children and business 
shuttered their doors.  Only some two hours later, after 
military and police units were called in to restore calm, did 
some sense of normalcy return to the city's center.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
2. (SBU) On August 30, in three separate attacks in different 
neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula, gang members randomly opened 
fire on three "rapidito" small buses killing 13 and wounding 
over thirty others.  All three buses appear to be owned by 
the same transportation company.  Police have four suspects 
in custody and are searching for two others.  Initial press 
and police reports indicate that these gang members were 
hired by a rival bus company owner who reportedly offered the 
gang members USD 580 to scare others from using a 
competitor's buses.  (Comment:  Bus route permits are 
regulated by the Government of Honduras (GOH) to reduce the 
amount of buses on city streets and offer a modicum of safety 
standards; there is much competition between rival companies 
over who gets which permits. End Comment.) 
 
3. (SBU)  Gang members already under arrest are providing 
police with valuable intelligence, leading to the preliminary 
conclusion that this was not an act of aggression against the 
GOH or between rival gangs, but an ugly multiple murder by 
thugs-for-hire in a city where the murder rate is already one 
of the highest in the Western Hemisphere, and almost four 
times that of Washington, D.C. according to Post's estimates 
(ref A). 
 
4. (U)  Insecurity in San Pedro Sula is running so high that 
apparently after a few students set off firecrackers at their 
local school to celebrate Honduran Flag Day September 1, 
rumors rapidly spread that gang members had invaded the 
school and shot three children dead.  This set off a general 
panic in the city as parents raced to schools to collect 
their children and business shuttered their doors.  Only some 
two hours later, after military and police units were called 
in to restore calm, did some sense of normalcy return to the 
city's center. 
 
5. (SBU)  Comment:  This is the third mass murder to take 
place in San Pedro Sula since August 4.  President Maduro 
assured the nation that all the resources of the state will 
be brought to bear in an effort to bring those responsible to 
justice but many remain skeptical about the government's 
ability to provide security.  Many gang members have been 
incarcerated under the government's new anti-gang law (ref 
B), but insecurity remains the public's number one concern 
and the GOH does not appear any closer to solving the 
nation's increasingly high murder rate.  This rising 
insecurity is also taking a toll on economic development in 
Honduras as potential consumers stay home and some investors 
think twice before investing due to high crime rates and poor 
judicial security.  According to the President of the Chamber 
of Commerce and Industry for the Department of Cortes the 
September 1 business closings alone cost San Pedro Sula 
businesses thousands of dollars. 
 
6. (SBU)  Comment Continued:  Media and other sectors have 
speculated that the murders may have been the result of gang 
members lashing out in response to law enforcement efforts to 
reign in their activities through the new anti-gang law. 
However, this appears to be a turf-related incident between 
competing transportation organizations.  Regrettably, many 
San Pedro Sula residents question GOH explanations of the 
incident and fear that the government may not be able to 
protect the citizenry.  End Comment 
PALMER