Honduras´police chief investigated for drug dealing

By Diego Carranza

Bogotá, Colombia (AA) - The Honduran Police's Transformation and Depuration Commission will investigate the institution's new director, Jose David Aguilar, for supposed links to drug dealing.

A confidential report by the government, made known to the AP News Agency, suggests that in 2013, when Aguilar was chief of intelligence of the police, he helped Honduran drug dealer, Wilter Blanco, with the delivery of a shipment of 780 kilos of cocaine.

The commission called for an urgent meeting after being handed the information on Thursday.

According to the report published by the New Herald newspaper, Aguilar used his authority to impede the seizure of the drugs.

The shipment was hidden in a tanker truck that, according to the report, was being escorted by corrupted police agents from Wilter Blancos´ home.

Aguilar assumed his post as police chief on Monday and was sworn in front of the president, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was inaugurated on Saturday.

The institution, which has been tarnished since many years ago due to accusations of drug dealing, corruption, assassinations and robberies, has passed through a depuration campaign, started 21 months ago, in which 4.500 of its employees have been fired.

The Honduran government extradited Blanco to the U.S. in March 2017. He was recently condemned to 20 years in jail in a Florida court.

Según el diario La Prensa, el hombre de 40 años fue por mucho tiempo el principal líder del cartel del Atlántico y tenía entre sus principales aliados a altos oficiales de la Policía.

According to La Prensa newspaper, the 40-year-old was, for a long period of time, the leader of the Atlantico Cartel, and among his allies were various police officers.

* Ahmed Fawzi Mostefai​ contributed to this report.