28-8-2023 (TEGUCIGALPA) A mayor in Honduras found himself in handcuffs on Sunday, facing charges of collaborating with drug cartels in a massive operation to smuggle a staggering 90 tons of cocaine to the United States, utilizing boats and aircraft.
Mayor Wilmer Manolo Wood, who presides over Brus Laguna in the remote Mosquitia region bordering Nicaragua, was apprehended, as confirmed by Jorge Galindo, a spokesperson for the Honduran prosecutors’ office. The allegations suggest that Wood was in cahoots with three major drug cartels: Los Piningos, Los Yanez, and Los Amador.
At the time of reporting, neither Wood nor his legal representatives were available for immediate comment.
Galindo disclosed that, apart from collaborating with the three cartels, Wood allegedly received 30 tons of cocaine personally and orchestrated its passage through Honduras, enabling its onward journey to the United States.
Investigations indicate that Wood entered the realm of drug trafficking over 15 years ago, with him operating independently for the past eight years.
The public ministry revealed that Wood played a role in overseeing the arrival of 15 boats originating from Colombia, which transited through Honduras on their way to the United States.
This arrest took place in La Ceiba, a city located in northern Honduras, amid a series of extensive raids and inspections along the Atlantic coast.
Local authorities suspect that Mexican drug cartels, supplying narcotics to the United States, route cocaine through Central America and Mexico after it is transported from Colombia by sea or air to the Mosquitia region and other areas along Honduras’ Atlantic coast.
Notably, Honduras has had prominent political figures implicated in drug-related activities. Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez was extradited to the United States on charges related to drugs and weapons last year. Meanwhile, the current President, Xiomara Castro, is intensifying efforts to combat crime, repeatedly extending emergency powers throughout the country in pursuit of this goal.
