The spokesman for the National PoliceEdgardo Barahona, reported that the confrontation occurred in the sector of Maroonborder between Honduras and Guatemalawhen members of the Anti Maras and Gangs Police Directorate Against Organized Crime (Dipampco) were trying enter a home during an operation anti-drug.
“Preliminarily we are talking about four deceased police officers and a civilian“Barahona told reporters.
The spokesperson also noted that a specialized team was deployed to the area to support the search operations of at least three agents of the Dipampco who would have been kidnapped during the operation.
Until now, the authorities they have not identified the victims.
The incident occurred on the same day that the honduran security forces they investigate the alleged killing of at least 10 people on a farm in the village Rigorsin the municipality of Trujillodepartment of Colon.
According to a preliminary report from the National Police, the multiple crime would have occurred during the early morning. However, the Minister of Security of Honduras, Gerzon Velasquezstated that there are no confirmed items yet about what happened.
“We have no confirmed items in the form of death or existenceeven of the corpsesbecause the authorities They were not found at the scene.“, declared the official.
Velásquez added that “we have no official information how many are there corpses nor of where are they”, and announced the formation of a multidisciplinary team and the intervention of the area with “a greater force” to guarantee the safety of the population.
The victims, among whom there would be three women and that still have not been identifiedapparently they were preparing to work on a African palm plantation when a group of armed mendressed with police uniforms, broke into the place and opened fire without saying a wordaccording to local media reports.
If confirmed, this would be the massacre number 11 registered in Honduras since last January, according to figures from the Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University of the Central American country.
The region of Colon has been the scene for decades of an agrarian conflict that has left more than 200 dead due to disputes over land ownership among peasants and private security guards.
The conflict arose after the land sale originally delivered to peasants through a agrarian reform half a century ago and later passed into the hands of large agricultural businessmen. The new generations of farmers are currently claiming these properties.
Various sectors blame the former Honduran president in part Rafael Callejas having aggravated the crisis by allow peasant groups to sell their land to businessmen.
In 2022, the Government of the then president Xiomara Castro created a special commission to seek a peaceful solution in Colonmainly in the Aguan Valleyalthough the efforts have not given results.
According to local authorities, the agrarian problem has been aggravated by the infiltration of criminal groups, politicians and drug trafficking.
In addition to agricultural disputes, Colon is considered one of the most violent regions of Honduras due to its strategic position used by drug trafficking cartels for the transfer of cocaine from South America to the United States.
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