US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA1122

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001122 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR INL/LP, DRL/PHD, EB/TRA, AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, PGOV, EAIR, KCRM, KJUS, PHUM, ASEC, HO 
SUBJECT: ONE IF BY AIR, TWO IF BY SEA: HONDURAN 
NARCOTRAFFICKING TIMELINE MARCH 2002-APRIL 2003 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 986 
     B. TEGUCIGALPA 962 
     C. TEGUCIGALPA 924 
     D. TEGUCIGALPA 913 (ALL NOTAL) 
 
1. (SBU) The following is a listing of important 
narcotrafficking activities occurring in Honduras within the 
past year.  It should be noted that there has been a sizable 
increase in the use of aircraft as a delivery platform for 
drug shipments.  The occurrence of illicit aircraft tracks 
crossing into Honduras averages three incidents per day. 
 
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AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY 
----------------- 
 
-March 31, 2002:  A Beechcraft Queen Air crashed in the 
remote Mosquitia region of Honduras.  Ninety-five AK-47s were 
recovered at this site (ref B). 
 
-August 31, 2002:  Police responded to a crash site in Santa 
Rita of a Piper Seneca (model PA-34-200T) bearing Colombian 
tail number HK-2083P.  This particular aircraft also had an 
Operation Gemini Clipper sticker on its tail (ref B). 
 
-October 16, 2002:  A white Cessna made an emergency landing 
in Southern Honduras.  The two pilots were arrested and three 
kilos of cocaine were recovered from the burned wreckage (ref 
B). 
 
-Between December 31, 2002 and January 4, 2003:  A Piper 
Seneca (model PA-34-200T) crashed in the vicinity of Santa 
Rita.  No drugs were seized but arrests were made.  An 
Operation Gemini Clipper sticker was located on the aircraft 
that bore the tail number N237H (ref B). 
 
-March 5, 2003:  A twin engine Air Commander believed to be 
transporting 500 to 1,000 kilos of cocaine crashed in the 
area of Kum, Nicaragua; Kum is located just south of the 
Honduran border in the remote region of La Mosquitia.  Local 
villagers are believed to have taken most of the load across 
the Rio Coco into Honduras (ref B). 
 
-March 19, 2003:  A Beechcraft King Air entered southern 
Honduras and continued northwest straddling the Honduran/El 
Salvadoran border before it entered Guatemala where it was 
ultimately forced down.  Two Colombians were arrested and 
1,020 kilos of cocaine were seized (ref B). 
 
-April 2, 2003:  A Colombian-registered (HK-2862P) Piper 
Seneca loaded with cocaine was captured by police after 
landing on a Honduran highway near Arenal, in the Yolo 
department.  The pilots fled the scene leaving Colombian 
flight plans aboard.  Although only 397 kilos of cocaine were 
recovered at the site, it is believed that the plane 
originated with 1,000 kilos onboard (ref B). 
 
-April 8, 2003:  A Beechcraft Queen Air violated Honduran air 
space in the south of the country, but was not intercepted. 
The aircraft was believed to have approximately 1,000 kilos 
of cocaine onboard (ref B). 
 
-April 14, 2003:  The Honduran Air Force forced down an Aero 
Commander over southern Honduras.  The two Colombian pilots 
were killed.  Honduran police collected approximately 942 
kilos of cocaine from the crash site (refs A, C, and D). 
 
----------------- 
MARITIME ACTIVITY 
----------------- 
 
-November 29, 2002:  Honduran authorities seized 2.2 kilos of 
cocaine from a go-fast boat on a beach in La Mosquitia. 
During the operation two traffickers were killed, two 
captured, and the remaining two escaped. 
 
-December 11, 2002:  USD 460,000 was seized from F/U "Captain 
Ryan" in La Ceiba, Honduras.  Six people were arrested, 
including 1 Panamanian. 
 
-January 21, 2003:  USD 380,000 was seized from a go-fast 
boat at Roatan Island, Honduras.  Several arrests were made 
in the seizure. 
-March 6, 2003:  Four go-fast boats escaped capture off the 
northern coast of Honduras during Operation Rio Coco. 
 
-March 18, 2003:  Honduran police disrupted a maritime drug 
transfer operation.  The twelve subjects arrested were in 
possession of 12 hand guns, two AK-47s, one M-16, one GPS and 
13 cell phones.  Some of the individuals arrested in the 
event are known traffickers.  Subsequent investigation 
revealed that they are connected to a prominent 
narcotrafficking family. 
-April 13, 2003:  An abandoned go-fast boat was found in the 
vicinity of Puerto Castilla equipped with three 250 
horsepower engines and 10 barrels of fuel. 
2. (SBU) Comment:  The events listed above offer only a 
glimpse into the narcotrafficking operations that transit 
Honduras.  Post, through the Political Section's INL 
programs, DEA, and TAT, work closely with the GOH on 
combating narcotrafficking.  It is clear to Post that the GOH 
cannot fight this battle without the support of the USG.  End 
Comment. 
Palmer