Honduran General Romeo Vásquez, a fugitive from justice, boasted this Saturday of having the support of police and military personnel from his country in a message sent to various news media. Vásquez, 68, led a coup d’état that overthrew former President Manuel Zelaya, husband of current President Xiomara Castro, in 2009. Along with two other generals, he is accused of the death of a protester during demonstrations against the interruption of constitutional order.
The generals, Venancio Cervantes, 69, and Carlos Puerto, 63, were sent to a penitentiary on March 18, after a court hearing changed their house arrest to preventive detention. Vásquez did not appear at the hearing, which is why he is considered a fugitive, and the police are offering a reward of $40,000 for information leading to his capture.
“I am here firstly thanking the residents of this area who have protected me. I extend my gratitude to the good police officers and good soldiers who have been protecting me all this time,” Vásquez said in his message. Neither the police nor the army had commented on the alleged support from uniformed personnel that Vásquez claims to have.
The three retired generals are accused by the prosecutor’s office of the 2009 murder of Isy Obed Murillo, 19, and of serious injuries and attempted murder against Alex Zavala, another protester. The military officers were imprisoned for six days in January, but a trial judge later granted them house arrest. However, the Court of Appeals revoked the measure on March 3 at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office and ordered the capture of all three.
Vásquez led the June 2009 coup ordered by a right-wing civil-military alliance against Zelaya. The victims in the case, Murillo and Zavala, were participating on July 5 of that year in a protest against the coup, which was repressed by the military.
The case against the three generals was filed several years ago but was reactivated in 2024 by the current Attorney General, Johel Zelaya, who is allegedly aligned with the government according to the opposition, although he is not related to the former president.
