US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA792

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000792 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/LP AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2014 
TAGS: SNAR, PGOV, KCRM, KJUS, SOCI, HO 
SUBJECT: HONDURAS SEIZES 122 MORE KILOS OF COCAINE; 2004 
TOTAL IS UP TO APPROXIMATELY 2,356 KILOS 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 751 
 
     B. TEGUCIGALPA 665 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Larry L. Palmer; 
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) On April 3, Honduran authorities confiscated 
approximately 108 kilos of cocaine and arrested Luis Armando 
Juarez Pineda (46) at a make-shift check point police 
established at Bonito Oriental in the Department of Colon on 
the Caribbean coast.  The cocaine was discovered hidden in a 
false compartment of a truck.  An accompanying vehicle 
carrying three other passengers escaped.  Police also seized 
numerous firearms from the truck.  The operation was 
conducted by the Preventative Police and the Frontier Police, 
who have been cooperating in an unprecedented manner. 
 
2. (C) Police were alerted to the movement of the cocaine by 
a confidential informant.  There has been speculation that 
the April 4 execution-style murder of five individuals in San 
Pedro Sula is related to other recent cocaine seizures (refs 
A and B), although Post has been unable to confirm this. 
 
3. (U) In an unrelated incident, on April 1, local Tela 
police on Honduras' Caribbean north coast seized another 14 
kilos of cocaine from a pick-up truck after its occupants 
tried to force their way through a roadblock by opening fire 
on the police.  The vehicle's four occupants escaped on foot, 
although three were later apprehended.  The identities of the 
detained individuals have yet to be released. 
 
4. (U) This seizure, combined with previous seizures (refs A 
and B), brings the total amount of cocaine seized in Honduras 
in 2004 to approximately 2,356 kilos. 
 
5. (U) According to Honduran press reports, another 188 kilos 
of cocaine were seized by Costa Rican authorities at a border 
check-point in Penas Blancas.  The cocaine was discovered 
sealed in a hidden compartment of a truck with Honduran 
license plates.  Post would appreciate any information that 
Embassy San Jose has on this seizure. 
PALMER