Honduras says 10 killed in drug gangs’ shootout
Aug 6, 2013, 1:56 AM
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) – Authorities in Honduras say 10 people died in a shootout between rival drug gangs fighting over a cocaine shipment in northern Honduras.
Deputy Defense Minister Carlos Funez says a Nicaraguan drug kingpin was killed in the battle in the border province of Gracias a Dios. Funez said Monday that Victor Centeno’s body was taken by his gunmen over the border into Nicaragua.
Army spokesman Col. Jeremias Arevalos says Centeno’s group faced off a drug gang led by Honduran Fredy Marmol. Arevalos says the two groups have been fighting over drug trafficking routes and cocaine shipments.
Honduras has become a main transit route for South American cocaine, and violence tied to trafficking has helped drive the country’s homicide rate to the highest level in the world.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)