Fabio Lobo Sentenced to 24 years, fined $50,000

Fabio Lobo was sentenced yesterday to 24 years in a federal prison, fined $50,000, and agreed to forfeit a further $267,000 for conspiring to bring cocaine into the United States.  Fabio Lobo is the son of ex-Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

Acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim stated that Fabio Lobo had sought out drug traffickers with offers of assistance with the intention of enriching himself.  He continued:

"Lobo used his father's position and his own connections to bring drug traffickers together with corrupt police and government officials."

During the trail testimony was offered that among those corrupt officials was the current Minister of Security, Julian Pacheco Tinoco, and his own father, then President Porfirio Lobo Sosa.  The DEA alleges that Los Chachiros paid over $500,000 in bribes to then President Porfirio Lobo Sosa to avoid extradition to the United States and to avoid investigation by Honduran police.

Lobo, whose lawyer says he will file an appeal of the sentence as "overly harsh", will serve his sentence in a Federal prison near Orlando,  Florida, to facilitate access by his family.

Los Cachiros name Honduran Ex-President as Protector

One of the leaders of Honduras's Cachiros drug cartel testifying at the trial of Fabio Lobo told a Federal judge yesterday that he paid enormous bribes for protection to both Porfirio Lobo Sosa, ex-President of Honduras, and to his son, Fabio.

Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, one of two brothers identified by the US Treasury as the leaders of the Los Cachiros drug cartel in Honduras spent over 3 hours on the stand in the trial of Fabio Lobo for drug trafficking in the US.  Los Cachiros operated as a cartel in Honduras from 2008 to 2013.

During his testimony, Rivera Maradiaga was asked if he had received assistance from Porfirio Lobo Sosa, to which he replied "Yes" indicating that the first time was in 2009 when Lobo Sosa was still a Presidential candidate for the National Party.  Rivera Maradiaga testified that he paid Lobo Sosa $250,000 - $300,000 for that initial protection as a campaign contribution.  Rivera Maradiaga also mentioned a second meeting with Lobo Sosa where he gave him a packet of 500 lempira bills "eight or twelve inches high".  Rivera Maradiaga also testified that he was present at a third meeting, post election, with Lobo Sosa in which Lobo Sosa promised not to extradite him to the United States and said he would give them government contracts to pay back the bribe they gave him during the campaign.  It was at this third meeting that Lobo Sosa designated his son, Fabio Lobo, as his intermediary for Los Cachiros and made him their contract for security.

Rivera Maradiaga testified that Fabio Lobo helped him with security arrangements on two occasions.  In 2012 Fabio helped Los Cachiros with a 400 kilogram shipment of cocaine that arrived by plane.  The second time, in 2013, it was a ton of cocaine.  Fabio Lobo received a payment of $30,000 for the first shipment, along with several vehicles and an AR-15.  Rivera Maradiaga says Fabio Lobo "asked for a bit more for the second shipment because he had to pay the Chief, that is General Tinoco."

Emergency Police Cleanup

The Honduran Congress, which went into recess six days ago, was called back into session today to vote on an emergency decree requested by the Security Minister, Pompeyo Bonilla. 

The bill they are considering suspends all of the guarantees police have about due process before being dismissed.  Specifically, the new law requested by Bonilla suspends chapters V, and VI of the Police Charter contained in decree 67-2008, about disciplinary acts and protection against suspension, for 90 days.

The decree is for an initial 90 days but may be extended indefinitely at the determination of the Dirección y Evaluación de la Carrera Policial (DIECP).

Oscar Alvarez was fired last September as Minister of Security for proposing a law to clean up the police that similarly would have suspended the existing due process guarantees of police officers.  At the time, Lobo Sosa thought it was important to continue those guarantees.

Its not clear why the concerns about constitutional guarantees that called Alvarez's law into question don't equally apply to this law.

It's been a busy Congressional recess so far. 

Congress was called back Wednesday to create a new Executive Branch Directorate of Investigation and Intelligence, to be directed by General Julian Pacheco Tinoco. 

This morning Congress approved an anti-doping law which allows the DIECP to conduct drug tests of police officers and then act on them.

Added to the abrupt dismissal of the chief of police earlier this week, it seems something has made reform of the police urgent.