Limón Honduras landing point for drug shipments to the U.S. for Colombian cartels

SOURCE: laprensa.hn
Authorities indicate that 11 Honduran cartels are part of narcotics smuggling network.

Five drug cartels from Colombia are using Honduras as a drop off point to transport illegal drugs on to Mexico with ultimate destination of the United States.

Research by Honduran office of drug trafficking (DLCN) and the Honduran military working in conjunction with Colombian authorities that the following drug organizations are operating in Honduras: Rastrojos, Urabeños, Mellos, Oficina de Envigado and Daniel Loco Barrera (now in custody).

Barrera was a powerful drug trafficker in the eastern section of Colombia known as La Orinoquía or Llanos Orientales.

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Colombian authorities report that Matthew Ian Ferguson a Bahamian national who has lived twenty years in Colombia has worked with Barrera in securing pilots to fly drug shipments to Honduras.

Shipments of drugs sent by sea use nine Colombia ports. Seven are located in the Caribbean coast of Colombia: La Guajira, Santa Marta, Cienaga, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Golfo de Morrosquillo, Urabá and San Andres. The two primary ports used on the pacific coast are Buenaventura and Tumaco.

Daily shipments to Honduras have been detected using a variety of craft including submarines, speedboats, fishing boats, and small craft referred to tiburoneras (sharks) and jamaiquinas (Jamaicans).

Routes are alternated in the region of La Mosuqita as a focal point. Many of the drug drop offs are conducted at the following beaches: playas de Raya, barra del río Coco Segovia, Palacios, Brus Laguna, Canal de Tusigacha and Kruta.

Honduran authorities report that most of the shipments sent by fast boast (speed boats) are delivering the drug shipments at Limón in the Colón department. It is a square area of 643 kilometers and has about 9.000 residents.

A member of the Honduran navy indicates that the cartels have lookouts positioned in Limón monitoring activities of the navy, making it difficult to monitor cartel movements.

The trip from Colombia to Honduras for drug traffickers averages about five days (3500 kilometers). The cartels establish routes to evade the navies of Honduras, Panama, and Colombia.

The geography of Limón provides traffickers a means to drop the contraband quickly transport the shipments to different areas of Honduras.

Urabeños primarily work with Zetas in getting the drugs to Mexico and the United States.

Los Mellos originated from the cartel Urabeños

The cartels in Honduras provide support tasks and transfer operations in the trafficking of drugs and are part of the transnational network. These cartels operate in the western Honduras out of in drug transfer, and are part of the transnational network. Their strongest areas of operations are in La Entrada, Copan, covering the area of the border with Guatemala. Other operations are in Olancho, Colón, El Paraiso, Atlantida, Yoro, Santa Barbara, Cortez, Bay Islands and La Mosquitia.

Honduran cartels also facilitate the landing of narco planes on estates and clandestine airstrips. They also assist in developing plans, transport the drugs, store drugs, provide legal advice, and launder funds. READ ARTICLE