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At Least 19 Soldiers Implicated in Theft of Plane in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA – At least 19 soldiers have been implicated in the robbery of a small twin-engine plane that was seized from drug traffickers in 2008 and stolen last weekend from a Honduran air base, officials said.
Honduran Defense Minister Marlon Pascua told a press conference in this capital that the people who participated “directly or indirectly” in the theft of the aircraft from the Armando Escalon Air Base in the northern city of San Pedro Sula will be brought to justice.
Pascua said he and armed forces commander Gen. Carlos Cuellar presented President Porfirio Lobo “a detailed report on the disappearance of the aircraft.”
The plane, which was being held in custody by the air force, is one of many that Honduran authorities have seized from drug traffickers in recent years.
It was stolen last Sunday night by at least five armed men who entered through the back entrance of the base, located at the Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport.
The assailants overpowered the guards, boarded the aircraft and flew away, according to the defense and security ministries, which said the plane had a half hour’s worth of fuel.
According to unconfirmed reports published by the local media, drug traffickers may have paid some $400,000 for last Sunday’s operation.
The plane took off without clearance from the air-traffic controllers at the international airport, with the gunmen taking advantage of the runway being lit due to the arrival of a commercial aircraft, aviation officials said.
A copy of the report submitted to Lobo also will be delivered to Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi with the goal of determining the responsibility of “all the people who participated in (the theft),” Pascua said without identifying the suspects by name or rank.
Cuellar, for his part, said the goal of the armed forces’ investigation “is to demonstrate that the military will not tolerate illegal acts among its personnel.”
The soldiers implicated in the theft will be tried before either a civilian or military court, Cuellar said.
The theft has prompted criticism of the Honduran armed forces, with the air force in particular being accused of negligence.
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