US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA1543

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
POSTS FOR DHS, CONS AND POL 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, CA/FPP, G/TIP, AND DS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SMIG, PHUM, KFRD, CVIS, KHLS, ASEC, KCRM, EFIN, HO 
SUBJECT: TWELVE ILLEGAL CHINESE NATIONALS VIOLENTLY FREED 
FROM GOH MIGRATION'S DETENTION CENTER 
 
Ref: Tegucigalpa 002878, 
Tegucigalpa 00116, 
Tegucigalpa 00070 (NOTAL) and previous 
 
1. SUMMARY:  On June 13, 2004 two armed individuals broke 
into the detention center at GOH Migration in Tegucigalpa. 
They freed twelve People's Republic of China (PRCs) 
nationals apprehended early in 2004 and six South Americans. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. Since November 2003, GOH investigative and migration 
authorities have intercepted over 25 illegal PRCs using 
forged Indonesian, Taiwanese, Japanese and Great Britain 
passports.  Some were traveling with their PRC passports but 
had false GOH visas printed.  These intercepts and the 
arrest of four smugglers represented an important impact on 
the smuggling organization. On June 13, 2004, at about 1640 
hours, two armed individuals broke into the GOH Migration 
detention facility, reduced four migration and frontier 
officials to impotency, and fled with twelve PRCs and six 
South Americans.  Late at night on June 13, 2004, the 
captors released two of the South Americans. Their 
statements however, did not shed much light on the location 
of the PRCs or the organization that freed them. 
 
3. On Wednesday, June 16, 2004, the GOH's Attorney General 
issued warrants to search six local businesses owned by PRCs 
known for their participation in the smuggling of PRCs into 
Honduras and the United States.  An anonymous telephone 
call, however, revealed that the location of the PRCs was 
Rio Hondo, a village located some 16 miles from Tegucigalpa. 
Authorities were thus able to recapture the twelve PRCs, and 
the owner of the property where the PRCs were found was also 
arrested.  Surprisingly, the subject was released after 
providing the name of an individual who has been known by 
post officials to be involved in the theft of 1600 Honduran 
passports in 2001.  Post learned that after his release, the 
owner of the Rio Hondo property killed a neighbor in Rio 
Hondo.  As of the date of this cable, the owner of the Rio 
Hondo property and the subject identified by him remain at 
large. 
 
4. On Thursday, June 17, 2004, two more South Americans were 
intercepted in a poor hotel in Tegucigalpa.  Interviews of 
these aliens indicated that the operation of their captors 
was only directed at the PRCs.  Therefore, the captors 
released the South Americans. 
 
5.  Interviews of the PRCs with the assistance of officials 
from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement suboffice 
at post have provided local authorities with additional 
information about the members of this smuggling organization 
and their associates in the escape from the detention 
facility. 
 
6. COMMENT: This is an exceptional case where all the 
different investigative agencies in Honduras have worked 
together in an investigation of organized crime.  GOH 
Migration has experienced serious difficulties in obtaining 
PRC documents from the PRC Consulate in Mexico City. 
Consequently, and in furtherance of U.S. interests, GOH 
Migration has kept the PRCs in custody for periods well 
above the 40-day limit authorized under current law. The 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement office (ICE) at post 
provided GOH Migration with funding for the repatriation of 
the recaptured PRCs. END COMMENT 
 
PALMER