This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 002499 
 
SIPDIS 
 
JUSTICE FOR OTA, AFMLS, AND NDDS 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN 
DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SNAR HO
SUBJECT: HONDURAS INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY 
REPORT (INCSR) 
 
REF: STATE 209560 
 
¶1. Summary 
Efforts by the GOH have directly addressed the current 
drug trafficking routes including air, land, and maritime 
trans-shipments of cocaine through Honduras. Seizures have 
been reduced and are at lower quantities due to more 
enforcement of maritime and other drug trafficking 
movements by combined interdiction efforts as carried out 
by USG with Honduran police and military CN units. Arrests 
and seizures in neighboring countries have increased due 
to the pursuit of GOH CN forces aggressively enforcing 
counter drug initiatives within its borders. Corruption 
efforts have been addressed by the new Honduran Attorney 
General by implementation of polygraph testing for 
Specialized Investigative Units within the Public 
Ministry. These new measures are aimed at reducing 
allegations of internal corruption within the criminal 
justice sectors. The USG is also providing support to the 
new Money Laundering Unit created under the GOH Banking 
Commission. Such efforts include providing English 
language courses to help in the exchange of relevant 
information on an international basis with cooperating 
countries in the pursuit of Money Laundering 
investigations. Criminal Investigative training to this 
Unit is also being provided by the  U.S. Narcotics Affairs 
Section (NAS) in an effort to prepare stronger cases for 
successful prosecutions. Funding has remained dismal for 
the continued support of the various GOH counter drug 
entities and law enforcement efforts have been hindered by 
this continuing situation. Goals and objectives in counter 
narcotics planning have not been accomplished as a direct 
result of the lack of logistical support by the host 
country. Aggressive prosecution of major drug cases 
remains by the Public Ministry remaining weak due to the 
lack of training and support by the GOH. In spite of 
active and effective drug interdiction efforts by the 
Honduran military and police entities, case loads continue 
to grow within the Public Ministry due to the lack of 
clear lines of communication as well as inadequate 
leadership by higher ups within the judiciary system. 
Seized assets worth millions of dollars in cash and 
physical properties still continue to go unused by the GOH 
for several years now, due in part to  non- aggressive and 
inactive participation by the Public Ministry Seized 
Assets Unit. The U.S. Mission in Honduras continues to 
provide technical support in an effort to expedite the 
application and use of asset seizures. 
 
 
II. Status of Country 
Honduras continues to be a transit country for drug 
trafficking and is still not considered a major drug 
producer. The transshipment of drugs thru the country  via 
the usual air, land, and sea routes are actively monitored 
by combined USG and Honduran counter narcotics police and 
military units. Money Laundering training and support by 
USG agencies have been augmented in efforts to increase 
investigations as well as to prepare better and more solid 
cases for prosecution. NAS supports DEA efforts in 
Honduras and, in particular, the counter narcotics Special 
Vetted Unit. This unit has been responsible for the 
gathering of sensitive narcotics intelligence, under the 
direction of DEA, which has been instrumental in the 
disbanding of major international organized drug rings and 
the arrest of high profile drug dealers. Honduras is a 
party to the 1988 United Nations Convention Against 
Illicit Traffic In Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic 
Substances. (1988 UN drug convention). 
 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy 
Initiatives 
Presidential elections took place in Honduras during the 
month of November 2005 and the new government has vowed 
even stronger efforts against crime and the fight against 
drugs. Stronger international cooperation along with 
increasing the numbers of the National Police are also 
commitments that will hopefully be seen as very positive 
concern on the part of the new president-elect of 
Honduras. Drug interdiction operations will be 
strengthened along the north coast , along with more 
concentrated enforcement in other areas of the country. 
The Direccion de Lucha Contra Narcotrafico (DLCN) Unit, 
which operates under the Public Ministry as a special 
counter narcotics entity, has also committed itself to 
participate in the joint USG and Honduran initiatives in 
combating drug trafficking. The DLCN has also requested 
that they become fully vetted, to include polygraph 
testing, by the USG in a strong showing as to how serious 
they are about becoming part of the drug fighting solution 
in Honduras. The GOH Military Special Counter-narcotics 
Forces have also expressed a strong interest in becoming 
more directly involved in efforts to stem the drug trade 
and have also recently requested that they too be fully 
vetted.  The Frontier Police Special Investigative Unit 
has been working closely with the Public Ministry 
Organized Crime Unit in drug investigations which have led 
to arrests with substantial seizures primarily along the 
north coast. They are also in the process of investigating 
Money Laundering with logistical assistance from the USG. 
Earlier this year, the Frontier Police uncovered some 
sensitive information which led to the Organized Crime 
Unit filing charges of document forgery and theft of 
official GOH passports from within the Immigration & 
Customs Office in Honduras. The Public Ministry to date 
has failed to take the proper actions to arrest or 
incarcerate government officials charged with these 
crimes. 
 
Accomplishments. The U.S. DEA, in close cooperation with 
the Honduran Special Counter Narcotics Vetted Unit, the 
Frontier Police,  and the Public Ministry, have been 
successful in the disruption of international drug trade 
with the seizure and arrest of high ranking organized 
crime figures. Accomplishments in 2005 include the first 
bilateral court-authorized telephone intercept drug 
investigation in Central America, thereby dismantling 
entrenched drug trafficking international organizations. 
Since 2003, seizures include eight thousand six hundred 
sixty one kilos of cocaine, 2.50 kilos of heroin, over six 
hundred pounds of marijuana, and 1,250 rocks of crack 
cocaine. These seizures are combined land, sea, and air 
interdictions.  Some of these drug confiscations are 
believed to be directly connected to illegal Money 
Laundering activities originating in Colombia, Costa Rico, 
Panama, and Nicaragua. The amount of $460,000 was also 
seized from a sea-going vessel off the coast of Honduras. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts. The USG continues to support and 
work closely with Honduran Military and Law Enforcement 
Counter Narcotics entities in investigations and 
operations against drug trafficking. Due to lack of 
funding and resources, Honduran anti-drug agencies charged 
with the investigations and prosecution of drug cases 
continues to be largely ineffective within the Public 
Ministry. Increase in arrests related to drug activities 
continue to rise with efforts by the Frontier Police and 
the Military as a result of interdiction operations. 
 
Corruption. The USG is strongly supporting anti-corruption 
concerns within the Ministry of Public Security and the 
Public Ministry by providing support funding and 
logistical support, in particular, to the newly-formed 
Internal Affairs Office within the National Police. 
Recently a U.S. consultant was brought in to assess and 
evaluate the current Internal Affairs operating 
procedures, legal authorization as per Honduran laws, 
training needs, and operational capabilities. The U.S. 
Customs & Border Protection Special Tactics Unit (BORTAC) 
also provided firearms and tactical training to the 
Internal Affairs investigators charged with the arrest and 
detention of corrupt officers. Cases investigated and 
turned over for Administrative and Legal actions against 
officers charged with alleged misconduct and illegal 
activities continues to grow. Entire Special Operations 
Units with the National Police and the Public Ministry, 
which deal directly with U.S. Embassy agencies, have been 
submitted to polygraph testing and fully vetted to 
increase security and confidentiality in the handling of 
sensitive information. Several GOH officials have been 
charged in corrupt practices and are awaiting prosecution. 
 
Agreement and Treaties. The border container security 
efforts have been beefed up and agreements within GOH 
Ministries dealing with these efforts have been signed to 
expand the internal country authority to open and inspect 
sealed containers should probable cause be established. 
Countries such as the U.S., Belize, Colombia, Jamaica, 
Mexico, Venezuela, and Spain have all signed counter- 
narcotics agreements with the country of Honduras. 
Included is the aforementioned Declaration of Principal to 
be signed between the U.S. and Honduras as part of the 
Container Security Initiative (CSI) for the inspection of 
sea-going cargo destined to the U.S. and other countries. 
 
Cultivation/Production. Small amounts of cannabis plants 
have been discovered around the Copan areas in Honduras, 
but they are still not being considered as a major drug 
cultivation of illegal substances by  either USG agencies 
or the GOH counter narcotics forces. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit. It is widely believed that the flow of 
drugs through Honduras continues to increase. The USG, in 
conjunction with GOH maritime interdiction efforts, has 
been successful in recent apprehensions and arrests of 
persons and ships involved in drug trafficking. Several 
ships have been detained and de-commissioned as a direct 
result of these operations, with considerable amounts of 
illegal drugs captured along the northern coast of 
Honduras. Gang members are being utilized by organized 
crime rings to guard drug shipments in exchange for drugs 
and weapons. Several major loads of weapons for drugs 
shipments have been intercepted in combined operations 
conducted by the GOH Ministry of Public Security and the 
Public Ministry Organized Crime Unit. It has been 
established that these transactions were being conducted 
between Honduran gun runners and Colombian drug dealers. 
In efforts to directly address port security, the 
Declaration of Principal Agreement (DOP) between the USG 
and Government of Honduras will be signed on December 15, 
¶2005. This will initiate the Container Security Initiative 
(CSI) as shared by the U.S. Customs & Border Protection 
with participating countries,  as a major deterrent to 
target ocean-going, containerized cargo destined to their 
countries. CSI is a deterrent to terrorist organizations 
that may seek to target sea-going trade in any country. 
This initiative  provides a significant measure of 
security for the participating ports as well as the United 
States against weapons and illicit drug trade. 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction.  Lack of economic 
development, poverty, and unemployment continue to be 
viewed as major contributing factors to drug usage, 
especially among the youth of Honduras. A growing concern 
is the increased drug trafficking and use by gang members 
which target young school children in efforts to recruit 
them.  These problems have been recognized by the present 
Honduran Administration,  which is conscious that drug 
trafficking and usage pose security threats as well as 
social problems within the country.  Programs have been 
initiated to deal with these problems to include the 
cooperation of numerous church and NGO groups dealing with 
proactive drug awareness and rehabilitation programs. Job 
skills, family counseling, Demand Reduction, and pro- 
active projects are also included in these efforts to 
assist in counter drug activities. The USG sponsors an 
umbrella NGO project, known as the Institute for the 
Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (IHADFA) and 
Ministries of Public Health (CIHSA), which provides 
assistance to approximately seventy such groups that deal 
directly with public assistance in all of these efforts. 
 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
Policy Initiatives. In spite of continued lack of basic 
resources, Honduras has pledged to  increase its counter 
narcotics initiatives. These initiatives include the 
expansion of maritime interdiction, especially along the 
north coast where most of the drug trafficking occurs. The 
new GOH administration has made combating drug activities 
one of its major priorities. The government plans to 
strengthen international cooperation to confront these 
illegal activities. 
 
Bilateral Cooperation. The U.S. has continued to increase 
financial assistance by amending existing Letters of 
Agreement with the Government of Honduras. In 2005, as 
part of the already donated funding amounts of over $1.9 
million dollars since 2003, the amount of  $79,0648.00, 
was donated to the Frontier Police and Combined Counter 
Narcotics Operations Units. Additional training, such as 
Basic and Advanced Criminal Investigative, Money 
Laundering, Drug Handling & Identification, and 
Questionable Documents courses have been added to existing 
assistance programs for both the Ministry of Public 
Security and Public Ministry offices. 
 
The Road Ahead. Stronger law enforcement and judicial 
efforts, in spite of the lack of GOH resources to support 
these entities, are expected to result in continued 
international cooperation in the battle against 
international drug trafficking. Trafficking in Persons, 
commercial exploitation of women and children, organized 
crime and corruption are other important issues that must 
be dealt with by the GOH to improve the quality of life 
for its citizens. There exists within the Government of 
Honduras a strong political will to effectively deal with 
these and other internal matters. 
 
FORD