AP Exclusive: Top cop is US go-to man in Honduras for war on drugs, denies death squad charge

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

AP Exclusive: Top cop is US go-to man in Honduras for war on drugs, denies death squad charge
By Alberto Arce, The Associated Press November 1, 2013 4:01 PM

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- In a capital accustomed to daily bloodshed, the man in charge of law enforcement is as feared as the criminals. Few dare speak his name above a whisper.

Five-star General Juan Carlos Bonilla was accused a decade ago of running deaths squads and today oversees a department suspected of beating, killing and "disappearing" its detainees. He also is the top cop in the country that serves as a way station for most South American cocaine bound for the United States and beyond.

Bonilla is also the U.S. government's go-to man in Honduras for the war on drug trafficking.

Though the State Department officially keeps the 49-year-old chief at arm's length over his dubious past, Bonilla embraces the U.S. government as his "best ally and support." If the U.S. wants to fight drug trafficking in Honduras, they have to work with Bonilla.

Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Exclusive+goto+Honduras+drugs+denies+death+squad+charge/9113664/story.html

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[center]

"El Tigre" General Juan Carlos Bonilla



"El Tigre" standing over the
post-coup President, Porfirio Lobo [/center]

[Judi Lynn]

1. Earlier this year: US Aids Honduran Death Squads

US Aids Honduran Death Squads
By The Associated Press
30 March 13

EGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - The U.S. State Department, which spends millions of taxpayer dollars a year on the Honduran National Police, has assured Congress that money only goes to specially vetted and trained units that don't operate under the direct supervision of a police chief once accused of extrajudicial killings and "social cleansing."
But The Associated Press has found that all police units are under the control of Director General Juan Carlos Bonilla, nicknamed the "Tiger," who in 2002 was accused of three extrajudicial killings and links to 11 more deaths and disappearances. He was tried on one killing and acquitted. The rest of the cases were never fully investigated.

Honduran law prohibits any police unit from operating outside the command of the director general, according to a top Honduran government security official, who would only speak on condition of anonymity. He said that is true in practice as well as on paper.

~snip~
"Senator Leahy has asked the State Department to clarify how they differentiate between what they told the Congress and what is being said by those within Honduran police units under his authority," Leahy aide Tim Rieser said Friday. "Sen. Leahy, like others, made clear early on his concerns about Gen. Bonilla and the conduct of the Honduran police."

Dozens of U.S. Congressmen, Leahy chief among them, have been raising concerns for many years about abuses of authority and human rights violations by the Honduran police, a force of 14,000 officers that is considered among the most corrupt in the world.

More:
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/324-100/16724-us-aids-honduran-death-squads

[zeemike]

2. Another graduate of the School of the Americas?

Sounds like someone we can work with.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Yes, he surely is! Proud graduate from 1992.

Notorious Graduates from Honduras

~snip~

Name: Juan Carlos Bonilla
Country: Honduras
Dates/courses: Cadet Course, 1992

Info:While he was regional police chief, “El Tigre” Bonilla was accused by an internal affairs report of at least three extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances between 1998 and 2002 and was among several officers suspected in 11 other cases as part of a campaign of social cleansing. While Bonilla was acquitted of one of three charges in 2002, the lead investigator on the report was fired without reason and the rest of the cases were not carried out. Bonilla is now Director General of the national police force despite implications of involvement in the murder of his predecessor’s son by a death squad.

More graduates:
http://www.soaw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=241

[zeemike]

4. Hey, it was an easy guess.

You will know them by their works.