Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime obtained and published a video that showed the Honduran president’s brother-in-law, Carlos Zelaya, negotiating bribes with drug traffickers. The video caused a crisis for President Xiomara Castro’s government, which was elected in a landslide in 2021 on a platform to combat drug trafficking and corruption. 


The scandal comes days after Castro said she would end Honduras’ extradition agreement with the United States in a move seen as an effort to shield politically connected elites from facing justice abroad.


Also this week, cocaine cropped up in unexpected places. Guyana made a 4.4-ton seizure, putting the country firmly on the drug trafficking map. Meanwhile, a 3-ton seizure in Venezuela from a plane allegedly destined for Afghanistan, with a layover in Russia, has highlighted drug trafficking routes to Asia. 


And the Maduro regime seized an opportunity to discredit the opposition with a fierce security operation against the Venezuelan gang Tren de Llano, which may do little to help his image and could instead bolster criminal groups.

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InSight Crime has obtained a video in which some of Honduras’ top drug traffickers met with a member of the first family and offered to give over half a million dollars to help Honduras’ ruling party in an unsuccessful run for office by now-President Xiomara Castro. 


The meeting, which happened during Castro’s failed 2013 bid for the presidency, was attended by Carlos Zelaya, Castro’s brother-in-law. Carlos Zelaya admitted to journalists during an impromptu press conference on August 31 that he went to San Pedro Sula at the invitation of several “businessmen” and spoke to the drug traffickers.   


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The video published by InSight Crime showing the president’s brother-in-law negotiating bribes with drug traffickers sent shockwaves through the country. A late-night video address by the country’s president did nothing to dampen the scandal and Castro faces growing calls for her resignation. 


InSight Crime’s director, Steven Dudley, told Honduran network Hoy Mismo that it was wrong to think of drug traffickers “penetrating” Honduran politics because they were already part of the country’s political and economic elites. “What caught my attention is how casual this was,” he added.  


Within 12 hours, over 140 news sites cited InSight Crime’s article. The story led Honduran television news coverage and appeared on the front pages of Honduras’ major papers. 


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This Week's Criminal Profile: Cachiros

The Cachiros were one of Honduras’ largest drug trafficking organizations and its leaders, brothers Devis and Javier Rivera Maradiaga, were at the center of the drug trafficking scandal that rocked Honduras this week. Both Riveras were at the meeting where Carlos Zelaya negotiated bribes with drug traffickers and the video was filmed by Devis Rivera using a spy watch. 


At the time, the Cachiros had been hit with US sanctions and property seizures in Honduras. Sensing that a criminal indictment was looming, the Riveras started recording meetings with high-level politicians and traffickers to use the footage as leverage in a potential plea deal with US authorities.

Trending Topic: As Security Force Withers in Haiti, International Community Looks for Alternatives

With its secretary of state visiting Haiti, the US hopes the Kenyan-led security operation can become a formal UN mission. The Kenyan and Haitian police are struggling to make progress securing the country and funding runs dry, and with widespread gang control, Haiti has yet to come up with a cohesive response. Read our coverage of Haiti's criminal dynamics.

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