DAY TWO: Trial Against Honduran Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, business partner of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez

What Happened Today:

• Opening remarks

• First witness was called: DEA Special Agent Brian Fairbanks

Key Details that Surfaced:

• Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez’s (GFR) business thrived because of his connections to police, military and political power in Honduras including with mayors, Congressional representatives, military generals, and police chiefs.

• GFR gave President Juan Orlando Hernandez $25,000 in cash, and access to his cocaine lab. In exchange, the President agreed to shield him from prosecution “with help from the Attorney General [Oscar Chinchilla].” (words of US prosecutors)

• GFR carried a green machine gun with him that was given to him by a Honduran Military general

• A Honduran accountant named Jose Sanchez, who worked with a business used by GFR to launder drug money, will testify about GFR’s meeting with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and witnessing GFR bribe a Honduran judge, amongst other details.

• Honduran agro-industrial businessman, Fuad Juan Jarufe Larach, is GFR’s business mentor that made contributions to President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s political campaign. He introduced GFR to the President, the Vice President, and members of the Honduran military

• GFRs had repeated communication with police and military officials and also, contact information of:

  • Conversations with Police Commissioner Ramon Martinez Hernandez and ‘Comanche’ believed to be a member of the Honduran military

  • Contact information for Police Commissioner Martinez Alvarado, Police Commissioner Sauceda [jailed in Honduras accused of money laundering]; Juan Orlando Hernandez; Military Colonel Amilcar Hernandez [JOH’s brother]; businessman Fuad Jarufe; Military General Rene Ponce Fonseca [Former Commander of the Joint Chief of Staff of the Honduran Armed Forces]; Manuel Zelaya; Ricardo Alvarez, etc.

What Will Happen Tomorrow:

• DEA Special Agent Brian Fairbanks will continue being crossed by the defense

• More witnesses will be called (unclear who they will be)

Picture from the Pro-Honduras network

More Details

US Prosecutor’s Opening Remarks

• GFR’s drug business thrived because of his connections to police, military, and political power including with mayors, Congressional representatives, Military Generals, and Police chiefs.

• Those he could not buy, he would kill.

The Drug Lab & Landing Strip(s)

• In 2008, GFR began selling 1, 2 or 5 kilogram amounts of cocaine in Miami. He started his drug lab in 2010. He paid dozens of armed men to guard the lab.  His lab was raided in 2011 by law enforcement. One of the officers involved in the raid was later kidnapped, tortured, and stabbed to death. He transported cocaine using air strips in Honduras.

Relationship and Meetings with President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH)

• GFR had secret meetings with the President of Honduras in 2013 and 2014 where they plotted to send as much cocaine as possible to the US.

• He gave the President, $25,000 in cash and also access to his cocaine lab. In exchange, the President agreed to shield him from Prosecutors with help from the Attorney General [Oscar Chinchilla]. GFR would later team up with President JOH’s brother, Tony Hernandez.

• With the President’s help, GFR’s drug business flourished. He began carrying around a green machine gun that was given to him by a Honduran General.

What’s To Come From the Government:

• Expert witnesses that will testify during the trial for the US government:

  • Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, confessed drug trafficker in prison in the US and part of the Los Cachiros cartel.

  • Jose Sanchez, who worked with a business used by GFR to launder drug money. He will testify about GFR’s meeting with the Honduran President, about the drug lab, how he delivered pay roll to GFR’s armed bodyguards, and how he saw GFR bribe a Honduran judge, amongst other details. 

  • A veteran witness that will discuss how drugs are produced in Colombia;

  • An expert in Honduran history, who will describe the Honduran political system;

  • An expert in machine guns who will testify about the weapons that GFR used to protect his drug trafficking business;

  • Other witnesses involved in law enforcement including testimony from a DEA agent.

• Photos and chats taken from the two cell phones that were seized from GFR when he was arrested as well as the ICloud account of GFR’s son, Geovanny Fuentes Gutierrez.

Opening Statements from the Defense, Eylan Schulman

• The government’s case depends on the testimony of “one of the most vicious murderers to have ever walked on this earth” (referring to Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga). These are self-interested witnesses with “too much to gain and too little to lose.” How can the US government rely on such testimonies?

• The US government enjoys a special relationship with Honduras – It’s a cheap trading partner, the two governments share information and work together to address regional challenges.

• President Hernandez agreed to send individuals that violated US laws (extradition) to US to stand trial.

• GFR is 51 years old, he has 3 children – 3 sons (Geovanny, Christian and Jose Simon) from a previous marriage, and 5-year old daughter with his current wife of 6 years. He has 4 grandchildren. He had a business converting wood into energy.

• He had to carry firearms to protect himself in a “violent and dangerous country.” He had licenses to carry these weapons. As his business became more successful, he had bodyguards to protect him, which was not unlike what other successful businessman did in Honduras.

• Honduran agro-industrial businessman, Fuad Jarufe, is GFR’s business mentor that made contributions to President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s political campaign. He introduced GFR to the President, the Vice President, and members of the military.

NOTE: Fuad Juan Jarufe Larach is family (although unclear how) to the wealthy and powerful Canahuati Larach family involved in media, sweatshop, industrial and construction supplies industry, etc in Honduras.  Fuad Jarufe is the owner or a major shareholder in Grupo Jarufe that is composed of three companies: GRANSA, ARDESA, and AGRIMONSA.

• GFR is from the small city of Choloma. His son (Christian Fuentes Gutierrez) is married to the daughter of confessed drug trafficking jailed in the US, Javier Rivera Maradiaga or the niece of Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga (who will testify for the government in this trial)

• The government will show pictures of drugs and money but they could have come from anywhere. The government doesn’t have drug ledgers, pictures of GFR with drugs, police reports linking him to violence, etc.

Witness Testimony: Special Agent Brian Fairbanks, Special Operations Division, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

• Has been working as a special agent since 2009. First assigned for 6.5 years in Nogales, AZ, then to Tucson, AZ for approx.. 2.5 years, and then the Special Operations Division in Virginia. Assigned to the Bilateral Investigations Unit which conducts large scale international drug trafficking investigations.

• Arrested GFR on March 1, 2020 in the Miami International Airport.

Information from GFR’s Cell Phone & his son Geovanny Fuentes Gutierrez’s ICloud Account

• GFR was arrested with two cell phones – one IPhone and a Samsung – which contained a series of Whatsapp chats and voice messages, and photos.

• Many pictures were found on GFR’s phone. Some of these pictures are compared with other pictures found in GFR’s son’s ICloud account. A lot of pictures were found on the phone, some of them included pictures of: 

  • GFR, one of his sons and John Frederick Jarufe [family member of Fuad Jarufe]; Juan Orlando Hernandez with GFR’s brother, Christian Fuentes [running as a pre-candidate for Congress for the National Party], and Ana Garcia de Hernandez, JOH’s wife; Ramon Martinez Hernandez (Police Commissioner); and pictures with Commissioner Ramon Martinez Hernandez with one of GFR’s sons.

  • Several photographs of weapons (AK-15 style rifle, shot guns, 9 mm weapon, a green and black AR-15-style rifle with a magazine with ‘United States Navy” on it, a gold pistol) and weapon accessories (magazines, muzzle reducer slash, gun cases, etc)

  • People holding heavy weapons including a man with a gold watch which is similar to the watch found on GFR when arrested.

  • Screenshots of a Whatsapp communication

  • Cash in US currency and other foreign currencies.

Other Things Found on GFR’s phone and son’s ICloud account and Instagram Account: 

• Whatsapp conversations with: “Christian Bienes Raices”

• Several phone contacts including Juan Orlando Hernandez’s cell phone number and email address. JOH’s information on GFR’s phone was verified with JOH’s 2011 US visa application.

• Phone number of Honduran Police Commissioner Martinez. This information was verified with a US visa application submitted by Ramon Alberto Martinez Hernandez who described himself on the application as working with the Honduran National Police.

• Photos of more weapons and several photos of weapons with text referring to “sapos” (In Spanish) that mean ‘snitches’ in English.

• Other contacts including: Mel Zelaya, Ricardo Alvarez, Juan Orlando Hernandez.

• Evidence introduced from open source LinkedIn profile of Ramon Martinez Hernandez: Pictures of Ramon Martinez Hernandez “visiting the Director of the Carabineros of the Chilean National Police”; Ramon Martinez Hernandez with Juan Orlando Hernandez; a picture of a pin with caption “UN Course for Police Observers”; certificate in Ramon Martinez’s name from an “international course in Best Policing Practices”

Whatsapp Chats between Police Commissioner Ramon Martinez Hernandez and GFR

• One chat is the Commissioner telling GFR how to detect if his phone has been tapped (Date: February 25, 2020). GFR then passed this information to his son and verified by messages found on GFR’s son’s ICloud account

• Another chat with Police Commissioner to GFR’s son, Geovanny Fuentes Gutierrez describing the murder of three individuals in Cortés inside a white truck.

Whatsapp Chats with GFR & ‘Comanche,’ a member of the Honduran military

• Whatsapp chats dated October 29, 2019. Discussing how things are getting ugly in Honduras after drug-related murders occurred.

• Whatsapp chats dated November 6 and 7, 2019: Sharing an preliminary report about the violent murder of a man by firearm in San Pedro Sula in July 2019. The killing was a death squad like killing where people dressed in anti-gang forces shot four people inside a vehicle. The report names Deputy police inspector Jason Quintanilla and driver, Alex Herrera. Comanche share pictures of the dead bodies.

Other Contacts of Police and Military on GFR’s Phone:

• Police Commissioner Martinez Alvarado, Police Commissioner Sauceda [jailed in Honduras accused of money laundering], Juan Orlando Hernandez, Military Colonel Amilcar Hernandez [JOH’s brother]; businessman Fuad Jarufe; General Ponce Fonseca; ‘Comanche’ (believed to be a Honduran military official)

Connections to Honduran Investors in AgroIndustrial Business

• A photo of an ATIC investigative document was found on GFR’s phone. It was dated June 14, 2016 and was a request from the San Pedro Sula to the Chief of Police in Choloma, Cortés for more information about agroindustrial business man Fuad Jarufe and members of his family including Jacqueline, Janine, John Frederick, Jorge Farad, etc. They were subject to a criminal money laundering investigation.

DAY ONE: Trial Against Honduran Geovanny David Fuentes Ramirez

Brief Case Summary:

Honduran Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (GFR) was arrested on March 1, 2020 in the Miami International Airport as he attempted to depart the United States. GFR is charged with:

1. Cocaine importation conspiracy

2. Possession of machine guns and destructive devices

3. Conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices

The full indictment that outlines timeframes, charges, context, allegations, etc, can be read here. The trial begins today, March 8, 2021 in the Southern District Court of New York in Manhattan, New York. The trial is expected to last between 8 to 10 days.

What’s Important About This Specific Case:

• GFR is believed to have operated a cocaine-producing drug laboratory close to the northern city of Omoa, Cortés.

• GFR is believed to have paid President JOH (CC-4) $25,000 USD in exchange for protection. JOH (CC-4) expressed interest in having access to the lab and agreed to facilitate use of the Honduran Armed Forces personnel to help with securing the lab. GFR had significant communication with other drug traffickers, some of which will testify against him, as well as JOH’s brother, Tony Hernandez (who is waiting his sentencing hearing currently scheduled for March 23, 2021).

• In this trial, it is expected that damning evidence will surface that further implicates the Honduran police, Honduran military and JOH (CC-4) in drug trafficking. JOH seems to be concerned about this trial beginning and published a series of tweets yesterday warning that testimonies of convicted drug traffickers should not be given any legitimacy. Read the first of his string of tweets here.

Photo caption: Geovanny David Fuentes Ramirez. Photo from hondudiario

What Happened Today:

• Jury selection

Key Details That Surfaced:

• Before jury selection began, Judge P. Kevin Castel advised that he had received information that an individual close to the defendant, Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (from here on in GFR) had threatened the wife of one of the witnesses that will be called by the prosecutors. Judge Castel warned that an investigation would be carried out and if found to be true, GFR could face an obstruction of justice charge as well.

• The defense expressed concern that information had been leaked by the government regarding the identity of CC-14 (named in the most recent evidence submitted by the government and believed to be a family member of GFR)

• A list of names of places, people, and businesses was given to the selected jury members that include several names of Honduran politicians and convicted drug traffickers. This is to help the jury keep track of all the names that may be used throughout the trial.

What Will Happen Tomorrow:

• Opening remarks from the prosecutors and the defense

• The first witnesses is expected to be called

Stay tuned for detailed daily summaries

U.S. Indictment of “El Tigre” Bonilla: Just the Tip of the Impunity Iceberg

Today, the U.S. Justice Department, Southern District of New York indicted Juan Carlos “El Tigre” Bonilla Valladares on four counts of drug trafficking and related weapons charges. Bonilla Valladares is a former head of the Honduran National Police and a former Regional Police Chief of the western Department of Copan in Honduras.

According to the press statement announcing the indictment, “Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares allegedly abused his official position to protect cocaine shipments and murder a rival drug trafficker as part of a conspiracy involving high-ranking Honduran politicians and members of the Honduran National Police.”

Juan Carlos “El Tigre” Bonilla. Photo: ABC News

The indictment makes direct reference to President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s involvement in drug trafficking. It outlines how Bonilla Valladares worked in coordination and on behalf of Tony Hernandez, the brother of current President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) and President JOH himself: “BONILLA VALLADARES corruptly exploited these official positions to facilitate cocaine trafficking, and used violence, including murder, to protect the particular cell of politically connected drug traffickers he aligned with, including [Juan Antonio “Tony”] Hernandez Alvarado and at least one of Hernandez Alvarado’s brothers, who is a former Honduran congressman and the current president of Honduras referred to in the Complaint charging BONILLA VALLADARES as “CC-4.”

The press statement and indictment can be found here

Just the Tip of the Impunity Iceberg

For years, Bonilla has been the subject of controversy and faced public accusations of extrajudicial killings, torture, ties to drug cartels and organized criminal groups operating inside the National police, and corruption. His indictment for drug trafficking in the U.S. is only the tip of the iceberg.

Previous accusations against Bonilla show how he and the Honduran police are deeply involved in organized crime; how mechanisms to stop violations of the Honduran police do not function as they should; how impunity has reigned for years; and how investigations against those intertwined with the powerful and large-scale drug traffickers in Honduras, never ever advance. 

Death-Squad Killings of Young People

In 2013, the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) published an overview of news articles from the Associated Press, Insight Crime, U.S. Government documents published by Wikileaks, that describe Bonilla’s shady past. All sources describe a 2002 investigation conducted by the former Chief of the Internal Affairs of the Honduran Police, Maria Luisa Borjas against Bonilla and other police officers, involved in “at least three killings or forced disappearances between 1998 and 2002.” Bonilla was accused of killing Honduran youth. In 2002, Bonilla was charged with murder but was either found not guilty two years later or prosecutor’s dropped the case before it went to trial. 

Murdering Rival Drug Traffickers

One of the murders of a drug rival that Bonilla is allegedly tied to, was also discussed in Tony Hernandez’s trial in New York in October 2019. The rival mentioned is Franklin Arita Mata, who was killed in July 2011 in an ambush of his bulletproof vehicle transporting the principal victim and three of his bodyguards. 

The Honduran press reported on the 2011 incident writing that Mata’s car was attacked by unknown individuals traveling in two vehicles. Furthermore, in response to the murder, Bonilla, as the Regional Police Chief responsible for the jurisdiction where the incident took place, told the press that various police teams would be sent to investigate.

Involvement In a Police-led Organized Criminal Death Squad

In 2014, Honduran journalist David Romero read a testimony on Radio Globo of an unidentified police agent that had worked alongside Bonilla. The police agent turned whistleblower outlined several crimes including torture, rape, and death squad killings involving Bonilla and several members of the Honduran police. The testimonies gave a lot of detail about specific murders committed by police-led organized criminal death squads that Bonilla was involved in. 

In one of the many cases that the testimony outlined, was the rape of a young woman in the northern city of Choloma. In order to force the young woman’s mother to help the police death squad locate “Amilcar El Renco,” the woman was kidnapped, taken to an unmarked “security” house, and raped. The agent’s testimony identifies the police agents involved in the incident, including  “El Tigre” Bonilla,  Egberto Arias Aguilar (former Police Commissioner, current location and position unknown), Eduardo Antonio Turcios Andrade (named in 2019 as head of the newly created Transportation Security Force (FUSET)), and Victor Lopez Flores (former Police Commissioner who pleaded guilty in U.S. courts for drug trafficking in 2017). The agent also stated that the police-led organized criminal death squad had support from the Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation (DNIC) and an Analysis section of the National Police.

Honduran media would later report that Cristian Amilcar Sierra, also known as “El Renco”, who the police death squads were looking for in 2014, would be murdered in his home in Choloma in 2015 for allegedly being involved in the criminal activities of the gang “El banda de el Negro.” “El Negro” is likely Carlos Arnoldo “El Negro” Lobo who was extradited to the U.S., worked with the Los Cachiros and the Sinaloa drug cartel, and later convicted in the U.S. for large-scale drug trafficking. 

You’re Not Even Safe in a Courtroom in Honduras: Today’s Shoot-out in El Progreso

A few hours ago, a shoot-out occurred in the courthouse in the city of El Progreso, department of Yoro. It began inside the courthouse but shots were also fired outside in front of the building.  

Based on preliminary reports, at least three state security forces including National Police and Military Police were killed and at least six injured. Allegedly, some civilians were also injured and have been hospitalized.

Apparently the shoot-out involved a planned operation to free a Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang leader named Alexander Mendoza or “El Porky.” Mendoza had been heavily guarded and brought to the courthouse for unknown reasons. Mendoza was imprisoned in the Tamara prison, just north of the capital city, Tegucigalpa.

According to initial reports, a Military Police vehicle was used by Mendoza and his collaborators to carry-out their operation. Individuals that were close to where the incident occurred report that a protected witness dressed from head-to-toe in a black cape, may have collaborated with the escape operation, as well as some of the security forces that were allegedly guarding Mendoza.

Now, the Honduran government is offering one million lempiras for information about Mendoza, who is on the loose.

From Tamara prison to maximum-security then back to Tamara prison

In April 2019, Mendoza was one of 12 “feared” and “dangerous” gang leaders who was transported by helicopter to the maximum-security prison La Tolva in Morocelí, El Paraíso.

At the time of this heavily guarded and widely reported transfer, President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) gave a press conference and specifically mentioned Mendoza: “the three [Mendoza and two more] were convicted to 20 years in prison after being arrested for their leadership in criminal groups, extortion, and arms and drug trafficking in San Pedro Sula, in the northern region of Honduras.”

JOH also said: “this happens sometimes … that by judicial orders, they end up in the Tamara [jail]. There, they are totally relaxed committing crimes – the rule is that if they are dangerous, they have to go to a maximum-security prison.”

So why was Mendoza imprisoned in the Tamara prison after he was taken last year BY HELICOPTER – because of his highly dangerous status - to La Tolva jail? Why was Mendoza brought to the courthouse if he has already been sentenced?

Important questions to ask while considering:

1.     JOH justified the thousands of dollars (millions?) spent to construct U.S.-style maximum-security prisons to jail “dangerous and feared criminals” involved in “organized crime.”

2.     Several massacres last year inside Honduran prisons left dozens dead, and again, exposed the false assumption that maximum-security prisons are safer, not affected by corruption, and successfully help implement JOH’s national security plan. After all, maximum-security prisons are at the center of JOH’s national security plan and efforts to “combat organized crime.”

3. Control of the national prison system, and most likely all the decisions related to it, was officially handed over to the Honduran military after the massacres last year inside the prisons. Decisions like transporting prisoners, like Mendoza, is likely to have been made by the military unit in charge.

Not Safe in Courthouses or Near Police Stations in Honduras

As the security situation continues to deteriorate in the country, police stations and courthouses are definitely not safe.  Just in the last three months, there have been at least three attacks either by courthouses - like today’s - or close to or inside police stations. The most recent ones committed close to police stations:

On December 6, 2019: A man was killed inside the Trujillo police station in the afternoon. Two police were working inside the police station when the incident occured. At least seven armed individuals went into the station and killed a man that was being held behind bars inside the post.

On December 12, 2019: A public bus driver was shot and killed “three meters from the police station in the Las Brisas neighbourhood” in Tegucigalpa.

Our condolences to the relatives of the individuals that were killed today as well as to the residents of El Progreso that are experiencing a state of terror

Active Honduran Police Commissioner With Ties to U.S. Drug Cases Arrested for Money Laundering

This morning, Hondurans woke up to the news that police commissioner Leonel Luciano Sauceda Guifarro and his wife, Patricia Sbeltana Estrada Pacheco, had been arrested in Tegucigalpa.

A large police and military operation raided their Tegucigalpa-based home this morning and will conduct a “series of seizures of property illicitly obtained, 8 houses, 2 vehicles, 23 bank accounts, all properties of the accused” says the communiqué published by the Honduran Prosecutor’s Office.

Police commissioner Leonel Sauceda (on the couch) being arrested inside his home this morning. Photo by El Heraldo.

“Commissioner General Sauceda Guifarro, in a period of eleven years (2006 – 2018) cannot explain the origin of 13,801,838.35 Lps [$563,000 USD] that involves 13 bank accounts in his name.”

At the time of writing, the police commissioner and his wife were being taken to police facilities in Tegucigalpa. They will appear before a judge over the next 48 hours.

Connections to U.S. Drug Cases: A Small Narco World in Honduras

This morning’s arrest has connections to drug cases in U.S. federal courts, specifically, the February 2016 extradition of Honduran drug trafficker, Juan Carlos Arbizú.

In June 2016, in an internal police document, the Director of the National Police Felix Villanueva Mejia was informed that Arbizú told a Police Commissioner - who was present when Arbizú was being escorted onto a plane to be handed over to U.S. authorities – that Arbizú had said out loud in the moment: “tell Sauceda that I’ll be waiting for him over there [in the U.S.] – I remember when he brought the bags.”

According to Honduran media ConfidentialHN, “Leonel Sauceda, had received bags with money obtained through illicit activities.” Arbizu’s comment may have been retaliation for Sauceda’s role of announcing Arbizú’s arrest to the Honduran press in his position as the Honduran Police spokesperson. They could even have been business associates.  

A U.S. federal court sentenced Arbizú in 2017 for his involvement in large-scale drug trafficking,. Among his collaborators are the Los Cachiros and Valle Valle cartels –both business associates of President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s brother, Tony Hernandez.  

Cleaning up the National Police?

Just ten days ago on January 30, Leonel Sauceda was promoted to police commissioner - one of the highest positions in the Honduran National Police.

Despite the April 2016 creation of the U.S.-funded Special Commission for the Cleanup and Transformation of the Honduran National Police (CEDTPN), Sauceda and other police believed to be involved in criminal activities, remain active and are promoted inside the institution. Sauceda has held various important positions inside the Honduran police since 1992, including Director of Human Resources, Director of the National Transit Police, Head of Public Relations, and Head of the Police in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.

Two public figures that represent Honduran “civil society” are involved in the CEDTPN including representatives of the U.S.-funded Association for a More Justice Society (ASJ). Up until last year, ASJ received over half of their total budget in Honduras from different agencies of the U.S. government.

To make the matters of cleaning up the police even more scandalous, police commissioner Sauceda has appointed César Bonilla as his attorney. Bonilla is the former Director of the extinct Directorate for the Investigation and Evaluation of the Police Career (DIECP) which was created in 2011 to “to evaluate police performance and remove officers implicated in corruption and criminal activity, including human rights abuses.” Apparently DIECP’s inevitable failure later led to the creation of the CEDTPN.

Other Scandals Involving Active Members of the Police in Narco Cases

Public scandals highlighting the failure of the Special Commission continue to surface. In November 2019, Honduran media reported that at least four active and inactive police officers were involved in the murder of Honduran journalist Angel Alfredo Villatoro in 2012.

A group of police officers were contracted by Los Cachiros drug cartel on behalf of an unnamed wealthy businessman in San Pedro Sula to kill the well-known journalist. Allegedly, Villatoro obtained the businessman’s iPad containing sensitive information, causing the businessman to panic in fear that Villatoro would publish the information found on the device.

Villatoro was then killed and silenced. A 2012 Inspector General report detailed the circumstances around Villatoro’s death including that before his disappearance and violent murder, the journalist was taken to the office of the National Direction of Special Investigation Services and later, to the place where his body was found.  

Honduran media reported that the 2012 Inspector General report had been given to the Direction of Disciplinary Issues of the National Police (DIDADPOL) and to members of the Special Commission to Clean-up the National Police.

Despite the existence of the report, at least four of the police officers involved in the disappearance and brutal murder of Villatoro, are still active in the Honduran National Police.

Going Up The Chain of Command

Many are speculating the reasons behind today’s arrest of the police commissioner.

Sauceda is believed to be close to the former Minister of Security and Presidential candidate for the National Party, Oscar Alvarez and the current mayor of San Pedro Sula, Armando Calidonio. In April 2019, Calidonio was detained in the Houston airport by U.S. migration authorities and later released. It is widely speculated in Honduras that Calidonio’s temporary detention is related to drug-trafficking investigations in U.S. federal courts.

Sauceda’s arrest may be part of a cover-up or an effort to silence him, particularly if he has information about high-level government involvement in drug trafficking.

It is possible that his arrest this morning may also be a Honduran government strategy to initiate criminal proceedings against him in Honduras, in order to prevent his extradition to the United States. The Honduras-U.S. extradition law specifically prevents extradition to the U.S. if a Honduran individual has pending criminal accusations in Honduras.

This strategy is believed to have prevented the extradition of former mayor Arnaldo Urbina Soto, currently serving 36 years in a normal – not maximum-security –  Honduran prison for money laundering.  The Urbina Soto family has close political and business ties to Tony Hernandez and President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Interesting, Urbina is known to “run the prison” in the city of El Progreso where he has internet access, unlimited visits, and is able to leave his cell whenever he wants. While he serves jail time in Honduras, he is protected from extradition and U.S. court proceedings.