Honduran military destroys drug traffickers landing strips

The Honduran armed forces said on Thursday that it had destroyed at least 10 landing strips used by drug traffickers in the La Mosquitia region along the country's northeastern Caribbean coast. "Today, we concluded an operation that lasted between six and seven days in the department of Gracias a Dios (in La Mosquitia), where we have destroyed an average of 10 landing strips," Carlos Espinoza, assistant Chief of Staff of the Honduran Armed Forces told a press conference. Six of the landing strips were located in Ibans Lagoon and four in Brus Lagoon, in the municipality of Puerto Lempira, he said, adding they were on average 1,200 meters long. He added the measure marked the seventh stage of an anti-narcotics operation, code-named "Armadillo," during which more than 60 illegal landing strips have been destroyed since 2012. In August, Honduran Deputy Defense Minister Carlos Funez said the armed forces had identified some 200 clandestine landing strips around the country, especially in La Mosquitia, and the northern departments of Olancho and Colon. In 2012, Honduras seized 22 tons of cocaine and 21 million U.S. dollars in drug-related cash and assets with U.S. assistance, according to an official report.