Attacks in northern Honduras leave nearly 20 dead, including officers
About 20 people have been killed in three attacks in northern Honduras, including a massacre at a palm oil farm and two attacks involving police officers, according to authorities and local media reports.
The deadliest attack happened early Thursday inside an African palm farm in Trujillo, in the department of Colón, where Honduran officials confirmed more than 10 bodies have been found.
Rommel Armando Martínez Torres, Honduras’ deputy secretary for police affairs, said at a briefing that the killings happened in an area affected by “endemic violence” caused by criminal groups, creating panic and fear among residents.
Officials did not release a final death toll from the farm attack. Local media reported that witnesses gave different estimates, ranging from 13 or 14 victims to as many as 17, but videos from the scene showed at least 10 bodies in one area.
Some of the victims were gathered inside a church when armed men opened fire, according to preliminary information cited by local media. Men, women and children were reported to be at the scene.
Before authorities secured the area, relatives removed some of the bodies to take them home for wakes, according to the reports. Investigators have not confirmed a motive, though a possible dispute over land and control of palm crops was among the early lines of inquiry.
Hours later, five police officers were killed during a raid in Corinto, also in northern Honduras. Officers had entered a home as part of an operation targeting suspected criminals when they were attacked from inside.
At the briefing, officials said the five officers are considered missing because their bodies have not been found at the scene, but added: “We presume something serious happened to them.”
The officers who died were members of DIPAMPCO, a police division focused on gangs and organized crime. One of them was identified as subcommissioner Lester Amador, who was described in local reports as a senior investigator for the unit in Tegucigalpa.
Three other people were also reported killed in the exchange of gunfire. Preliminary information indicated they were suspected members of the criminal group targeted in the raid.
The violence came after another attack in San Pedro Sula, where a police officer was killed when a patrol was ambushed during surveillance work, according to local media. A female officer was also injured.
The three attacks happened within hours in northern Honduras, one of the country’s most violent regions and a corridor long affected by gangs, drug trafficking groups and disputes over territory.
Martínez Torres said authorities have activated an interagency response protocol, including the armed forces, for an urgent territorial intervention in the area.
The post Attacks in northern Honduras leave nearly 20 dead, including officers appeared first on BNO News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
