This Monday, a total of 20 prisoners were transferred to the Támara national penitentiary in Honduras. The transfer was carried out by the Public Order Military Police (PMOP) and included prisoners involved in various high-profile cases such as money laundering, illegal firearms carrying, and kidnappings.
Among the prisoners transferred were soldiers Germán Josué Hernández Velásquez, Josué Jeremías Rodríguez García, Santos Raúl Antúnez Fúnez, and Noé Moisés García Rodríguez. They are accused of crimes including illegal carrying of firearms, illicit association, improper use of police equipment, usurpation of functions, and unjust deprivation of liberty.
One of the cases involved the kidnapping of merchant Luis Portillo Betancourth in 2015. The perpetrators, driving a gray truck without license plates, were intercepted by the police. The accused soldiers were found to be involved in the kidnapping, as well as in aggravated robbery and extortion directed towards protected witnesses and the internal security of Honduras.
Other notable cases include the conviction of José Ramón Berttety Osorio and Jenny Carolina Andrade Lemus for continued passive bribery and money laundering. Both defendants were ordered to pay a fine of over 15 million lempiras. Berttety, the former administrative and financial manager of the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS), will face a sentence of seven to eight years in prison for bribery and 10 to 13 years for laundering.
Former IHSS director Mario Roberto Zelaya Rojas also received an additional sentence of 31 years in prison for money laundering, fraud, and violation of duties. Zelaya Rojas had already been sentenced to 71 years in prison in 2016 for various crimes, including money laundering and abuse of authority.
In relation to the high-profile murder of environmentalist Berta Cáceres, two individuals were sentenced. Sergio Ramón Rodríguez Orellana, arrested in 2016, was found to be one of the alleged material authors of the murder and was involved in monitoring Cáceres’ activities through a network of informants. Roberto David Castillo Mejía, who provided logistical support to one of the material authors, was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison as a co-author of the murder.
Other individuals who were transferred to the Támara penitentiary include José Miguel Handal Pérez, Marco Antonio Bográn Corrales, Luis Alejandro Joya Fajardo, Oscar Guerra OCampo, Alex Idilio Reyes Serrano, Isaí Evenot Campos Rodríguez, and José Rafael (last name unspecified). They are all involved in various criminal cases, ranging from drug trafficking to violation of duties and femicide.
The transfer of these prisoners is part of ongoing efforts to ensure they are held accountable for their crimes and to maintain order and security within the penitentiary system.