HONDURAN GOVERNMENT CRITICIZES US INVOLVEMENT IN ARREST OF HONDURAN CITIZEN

The Honduran ambassador to the US is investigating the arrest of a Honduran citizen by INS agents in Los Angeles as a kidnapping.  Jose Leon Castillo was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport after being placed on the flight by Guatemalan authorities.  They were deporting him back to Honduras, and did it by placing him on a flight that first went to Los Angeles.

According to the Honduran Consul General, the arrest was in violation of a treaty between the US and Honduras that prevents each country from seizing nationals of the other in third countries.  US officials deny any involvement in the actions of Guatemalan officials.  However, documents filed in court claim that INS agents in Guatemala had arrested Castillo and then tried to cover it up.  According to Castillo’s attorney, the US government also paid for the plane ticket to Los Angeles.

Castillo’s arrest was part of Operation Forerunner, an international anti-smuggling effort that involved seven countries.  At the time of his arrest in October, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner called him “one of the most notorious alien smugglers on this continent.”  He was accused of smuggling 300 people into the US each week.  However, the indictment only charged him with one count of smuggling.