Sources of the Honduran Police and military intelligence of that country have confirmed that the operation in which they died five agents from the Anti Maras and Gangs Police Division against Organized Crime (Dipampco) It was illegal, since they did not have a court order to carry out the search or the accompaniment of a prosecutor when they entered a home in Corinto, Omoa, Cortés, a border area with Guatemala.
Honduran media indicate that official records of the Police of that country revealed that the team had been assigned a different mission in the department of Colón, focused on surveillance work, not raids.
The police officers would have deviated towards Omoa on their own and entered the house without the aforementioned order or support from prosecutors.
It is assumed that the illegal operation was for the “tomb of about US$250,000, a batch of jewelry and apparently drugs.
The authorities also confirmed that the operation did not comply with the required legality and security protocols, which increased the risk for the agents and led to a confrontation with a heavily armed criminal structure.
The Honduran authorities mention that they are investigating whether the group that attacked the agents is linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), an organization that emerged in Mexico and has expanded to other countries in the region, including Guatemala.
According to the official report, the operation was May 21 at dawn On a day marked by killing of another 20 people.
The five agents of the anti-gang unit were executed in the municipality of Omoain Courteousafter raiding a house where members of a gang led by the Honduran Heber Arguetalinked to the Mexican cartel.
Two civilians also died in the shooting and their alleged involvement in the events is being investigated.
Link with the Jalisco New Generation cartel
The communications director of the Honduran police, Wilber Mayes, indicated that Argueta “At the time he had links with this ‘el Mencho’ structure, for which he received specialized knowledge and treatment to be able to come and organize it here in this sector.”
The Honduran authorities thus indicated a direct connection with Nemesio Oseguera, alias “el Mencho”, historic head of the CJNG, who was shot down in Mexico just last February.
Until now, it has not been specified whether Heber Argueta was in the raided house, where the agents were attacked, kidnapped and later murdered in a town near the border with Guatemala.
After the confrontation and failed operation in Omoa, the government suspended the director and two other senior officers of the anti-gang division, considering that the operation did not follow “legality protocols.”
Another massacre followed
Hours after the murder of the police officers, an armed commando murdered 20 people on an African palm farm in Trujillo, Colón, an area marked by land disputes, drug trafficking and the presence of criminal gangs. Among the victims are three minors between 14 and 16 years old and three sisters.
According to authorities, armed men dressed in police uniforms arrived at the farm in the village of Rigores at dawn, when the victims were preparing to work.
The escalation of violence coincides with the recent approval in the Honduran Congress of a reform that allows the military to participate in public security tasks, toughens penalties for extortion and allows gangs and cartels to be classified as terrorist organizations.
The agrarian conflict in Colón dates back decades, but authorities maintain that in recent years it has worsened due to the infiltration of drug trafficking and criminal groups.
The case raises tension in a region marked by drug trafficking and territorial disputes.
The Honduran president, Nasry Tito Asfura, said on Thursday that the massacre “will not go unpunished” and this Friday his Government deployed a control and investigation operation in Colón.
Given the climate of tension, the authorities implemented special security measures aimed at protecting the relatives of those murdered and the local communities during the funeral ceremonies.
Guatemala reinforces border surveillance
The violence in Honduras also raised alarms in Guatemala. Authorities They reinforced security on the border after the armed confrontation that occurred in the two regions.
He Army and the General Subdirectorate of Anti-Drug Information Analysis (SGAIA) They maintain surveillance and coordinated operations with Honduras in the event of suspects attempting to cross into Guatemalan territory. The PNC assured that it seeks to prevent the entry of criminals and capture them if they enter the country illegally.
According to Honduran authorities, some 500 police officers and 200 soldiers were deployed in the area of the confrontation, linked to anti-drug trafficking operations.
Honduras also notified Guatemala to verify possible escape routes to the border.
“The Guatemalan Police to verify that they have not fled to that area and in this way we can capture them,” Banegas told local media.