More on Celín Pinot Hernández

Celín Pinot Hernández, alias "Cabeza"

I previously wrote that Celín Pinot had not served nine years in prison as Miami Herald reported. I determined that based on the articles about his death which reported that he was serving nine years for the July 2009 crime. But I was wrong. Maybe reporters were purposely misled by police or maybe they assumed the same that I did, that Pinot had served his time for the 2001 murder and/or 2003 attempted murder and was out committing new crimes. I tried to find more, but the newspapers search functions don't go back that far.

My source clarified that for me.

Celín Pinot was in prison at least since 2003, which might have been on the 2001 murder charge. My source says that "he was in prison for a time and then out for a few weeks and then back in again. Whenever he wanted out, he just had to pay off the police for each week he was out. People from DGIC (police criminal investigation) came and collected the money from him so that he could stay out even though he was supposedly serving his prison sentence. He had to pay for his vacations." This practice of letting out criminals was also confirmed by a friend of friend who was being held for a time in the La Ceiba jail and spoke of a narco who spent his days handling business and voluntarily returned to jail at night.

Regarding the July 2009 crime, the source said this: "In 2009 he was arrested near to Camosa, below the airport in Tegucigalpa. When he was arrested he was supposed to be IN jail, but he was out on a paid-for vacation and the police knew it. But he paid them to be able to leave prison and paid them weekly or monthly to stay out, so he did the kidnappings and the robberies and paid the police from money earned but when it got too 'hot' for the police then they would arrest him again and back to jail he would go to finish his sentence. The police never did the paperwork for him to have to go to jail for additional charges, like for escaping or the additional kidnappings, etc."

So when police were telling reporters about Pinot's nine-year sentence, they either falsely stated or implied it was from the 2009 crime, because to do otherwise would have shown that he had been allowed to leave prison by the very police who were making such a show of capturing this dangerous criminal. Note also that the July 2009 article mentions that witnesses saw the abduction in process and called the police. The article congratulates the police on their quick action. But maybe the real story is that because of the witness calls, they did not know who the perpetrator was and then had to deal with that potential embarrassment once they realized who had been captured.

The source goes on: "The last charge he had pending was this 2009 secuestro (kidnapping/carjacking) case. He went to court on that but was released the same day (October 13, 2011) because no witnesses came to testify against him. The police showed up, but the case was poorly put together, so the case was thrown out. He was given the carta de libertad (get out of jail letter) which was delivered by the court to the prison at 7:00 PM the same day and then they forced him to leave at 11:00 pm at night when the police killed him." This sounds similar to the case of narcotrafficker Begué in La Ceiba, who was murdered shortly after his questionable release from prison, according to this El Faro article [in Spanish].

It seems obvious that Celín Pinot represented a huge risk to the police, given their complicity in releasing this dangerous criminal on the public and even demanding a cut of the crime profits if what the source says is true. As long as he was 'serving time', the police had the option and could hold the threat over his head of picking him up and keeping him in prison or worse, arranging that he be one of the frequent prisoner murder victims in 'gang disputes' that so often happens in Honduran prisons. Once Pinot was legally free, he might talk. Or maybe he might not be so agreeable to turn over a portion of his profits to the police. Or maybe one side or the other got too greedy and an example to other criminals had to be made.

The source goes on to show the close connections between National Director of the Police, Ramírez Del Cid, and Commissioner of DSEI, Danilo Orellana: "They were married at the same time on the same date in the same wedding ceremony with the ex-director of the police Flores Ponce as the padrino of the wedding. They have been really close ever since police cadet school and are always into everything together."

The source also gives some financial details: "They own property together and owned a large piece of land in Jicaro Galán in Valle in the south of Honduras. They sold that land to the police cooperativo for a lot more money than it was worth. Now the member police can't get loans, because the cooperativo has no money for loans — yet another story that everyone is afraid to publish. Del Cid also owns a "company" which rebottles palm oil located in Germania and he uses lots of police to guard it. Orellano has chicken restaurants."

It seems pretty clear that Celín Pinot Hernández was a bad guy, a violent criminal, and probably even a murderer. Reader comments on the news story of his death were generally congratulatory toward whoever killed the three pandilleros (gang members). Some mentioned the price of L.200,000 as the cost of 15 days outside of prison and mentioned it was a common practice. Some speculated that the police had killed them. But police who think they have the right to kill will also kill innocents, as they did a week later when two university students were murdered by police in Tegucigalpa.

The Honduran media should be able to verify when Pinot was convicted and the sentence he received. They should also be able to confirm whether the case for the July 2009 kidnapping/carjacking was thrown out on October 13, 2011, and whether or not he should have still been serving a prison sentence at the time of the crime. Certainly the DIECP (new commission created to probe police corruption) should be able to investigate this and the financial aspects.

Celin Pinot, murdered to cover up criminal police activity?

Celín Pinot, murdered to cover up criminal police activity?

How would Celín Pinot Hernández, an inmate serving 9 years in the maximum security prison of Honduras, come to be dressed in a Honduran police uniform and carrying a police weapon? Why was he obviously posed for this photo, appearing uncomfortable and perhaps frightened that those directing him might actually pull the trigger? His expression is definitely not one of a cocky gang member showing off for the camera. Who would have the power to force a supposed dangerous gang leader to pose like this? Why would a dangerous criminal sentenced to nine years be released from maximum security prison by officials at 7 pm (or some say 11 pm) at night?

The above were all questions that I had when I was sent this photo a few weeks ago along with the story and a link to a YouTube video. I was told that the Honduran media had been given the photos and story but weren't going to run them. The person who sent them to me was afraid to tell me too much more.

The Miami Herald article discussed in my previous article "Corruption within the upper echelons of the Honduran police" touches on the case of Celin Pinot:

"The U.S. aid allocation included $2.5 million to help fund a maximum security prison. Among the inmates who were sent there: Celin Eduardo Pinot Hernández, aka “Cabeza,” leader of the notorious 18th Street Gang.

"For an inmate, Pinot had pretty good perks. He had a cell phone and was regularly let out to run drugs and visit his various girlfriends. Photos show him at the lockup in a police uniform and sporting a gun.

“For the past two and a half years, he was always let out at 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and, if not, on weekends,” a childhood friend of his told The Miami Herald. “He was doing business for the boss — drugs, weapons. He would deliver drugs and bring money. ”

“The boss,” his friend says, was the high-ranking cop who runs prisons.

"In Honduras, managing prisons is one of the most lucrative jobs in the hierarchy of the National Police. Inmates pay bribes for everything from phones to freedom and are let out to commit more crimes at the behest of their captors, people familiar with the practice say.

"After spending his nine-year sentence doing illegal bidding for police buddies, Pinot, 30, was released on Oct. 13. He was immediately gunned down, felled by gunshots a few hundred yards from the prison gate. [This is not correct, he had only served two years of the nine year sentence.]

"Two women who had come to pick him up and take him home that evening told human rights activists that they saw police officers do it. A few days later, the police officer who usually accompanied Pinot on his get-out-of-jail outings was also murdered. Then one of the witnesses to Pinot’s killing was stoned to death. The other vanished.

“It’s very difficult to investigate the jails,” said Human Rights Prosecutor Sandra Ponce. “They tend to self-govern. There are inmates with de facto authority.”

"Ponce said her office is looking into Pinot’s death, because there were enough “irregularities” to suggest law enforcement involvement, including the fact that he was released from prison at night, an unusual move that helped make the surprise attack easier.

"Prisons director Danilo Orellana insisted he has cleaned up the jails and that escapes, murders and crime are all on the decline, despite widespread overcrowding and a lack of resources. He said he had heard rumors that Pinot was sometimes let out, but denied that prisoners regularly go on drug runs.

“I can tell you that during my term, it isn’t happening. The jails have changed a lot,” Orellana said. “I put my hand on the fire for myself. I do my things correctly.”

"Because this is Honduras, Pinot’s case didn’t cause a ripple in the news media. ..."

Celin Pinot's death was reported in the Honduran media here, here, and here [in Spanish], and questions were raised about his release but never answered.

Along with another gang member, Pinot was arrested in July 2009 [in Spanish] after abducting a businessman and his luxurious vehicle. At the time of arrest, he was also in possession of a DNIC (police criminal investigation) shirt and two police issued bullet-proof vests indicating he might have had police connections prior to his prison time. Investigators claimed that he was also involved involved with the murder by machetes of three women and had been charged with murder in 2001 and attempted murder in 2003. No information was reported about whether or not he had been tried for those cases or whether or not he had previously served time. Police described him as extremely dangerous and said he was linked to a series of kidnappings, extortions, and murders in Tegucigalpa. In this case, according to news reports, Pinot was found guilty of numerous charges, including attempted kidnapping and aggravated robbery, and was ordered to serve nine years in prison.

On July 6, 2011, he was one of the first prisoners transferred to the newly opened maximum security prison due to being considered extremely dangerous and possibly involved with the murders of other inmates at the Tamara prison.

But on the night of October 13, 2011, both Pinot, alias Cabeza, and his accomplice in the July 2009 crime, Neptalí Coello Flores, alias "Lágrima", were murdered in a rain of bullets only 500 meters away from the prison minutes after being released by authorities. Investigators collected more than 60 bullet casings of different calibers, including AK-47. Police had no other clues and presumably, "the case is still under investigation".

Perhaps they were killed by rival gang members as the police speculated off the record to reporters, but you might wonder how rival gang members could have known that they would be released on that day and at that unusual time. The idea of a heavily armed rival gang hanging around outside a maximum security prison for hours without notice is a little farfetched. Perhaps police were angry at his release and took vigilante justice into their own hands. Or perhaps these criminals had served their usefulness to police authorities and needed to be silenced.

My source says that the photo at top was taken a few days before Pinot was released and killed. The photo at right is another one that was taken inside the prison. The photo below is an older ID or mug shot photo which was previously published by La Tribuna.

My source also stated that Pinot was regularly allowed out of prison on Tuesdays and Thursdays to do drug runs for Ramírez del Cid, National Director of the Police, and Danilo Orellano, Commissioner of Special Preventative Services which is in charge of the prison system.

My source told me that a police chauffeur who regularly drove Pinot on drug runs was murdered a few days later, as was Pinot's girlfriend, who along with two other women, claimed that they saw police kill the released inmates. The second woman disappeared, leaving behind a 5-month old nursing baby and is presumed to be dead. The third was arrested but Human Rights was able to get her released before anything happened to her and she is now in hiding.

The YouTube video called "El Tiky: Ascenso de un Criminal en Honduras" (El Tiky: The rise of a Criminal in Honduras) was uploaded by a group called Frente Civil por la Paz y Seguridad who seems to have no other internet presence. It strongly accuses Ramírez del Cid (who they call El Tiky) of being a loyal pawn of organized crime and gives specific cases, including assassinations, in which Ramírez is alleged to have been involved. The video claims that the assassination of Celin Pinot was done with the collusion of Danilo Orellana. It also makes claims of past corruption of Minister Pompeyo Bonilla and asks President Lobo to open his eyes and look for new security leaders.
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In curt interviews today, both Minister Bonilla and Commission Ramírez del Cid rejected the charges reported in the Miami Herald article.

Prior to the publication of the Miami Herald article, on Friday US Ambassador to Honduras Lisa Kubiske [in Spanish] admitted to reporters that there were many rumors surrounding the police leadership. She classified as urgent the need for purification of the police department.

So there you have it. I doubt that we'll ever know how much is true and how much is not.

See also "More on Celín Pinot Hernández" for more information.

Corruption in the upper echelons of the Honduran police

Minister of Security Pompeyo Bonilla announces promotions, November 1, 2011

Frances Robles of the Miami Herald wrote an article in the long list of those entitled "Honduras named murder capital of the world". I almost didn't read it because there have been dozens with similar titles, all saying the same thing. However, a friend sent me the link pointing out that this one was different. This one was hot. The Herald has since changed the title to a more descriptive "Graft, greed, mayhem turn Honduras into murder capital of world".

The subtitle of the article is: "An unholy alliance of cops, crooks, prisoners and politicians has turned the nation into a shooting gallery." The article relates some of what everyone in Honduras is afraid to say — that some of the officials promoted and transferred to the upper echelons of the police department on November 1 by Security Minister Pompeyo Bonilla and approved by President Pepe Lobo are suspected to be among the most corrupt and are rumored to have narcotrafficking connections.

"But Herald sources say those tapped to head the department have some of the worst reputations in Honduran law enforcement and are notorious for taking bribes, ordering hits and offering protection to drug traffickers."

The article includes some specific examples of how police investigations are sabotaged by higher level officials. My comments are in italics in brackets:

"One intelligence agent recalled being on a stakeout of a clandestine drug landing strip when he was called by a colonel and redirected to a location three hours away to check out a tip that turned out to be bogus. When he returned, the drug plane had come and gone. [Though narcoplanes and drugs have been captured many times in Honduras, to my knowledge, no narcotraffickers have ever been captured in these raids.]

“You write a report, give it to your boss and then realize it was him who was committing the crimes,” a military intelligence investigator told The Herald. “I have friends who are criminals and hit men. It’s the police, the army, the security ministry — it’s not just police or armed forces. It’s even prosecutors.” ["Friends?" Is this part of the problem? ]

"That was the case with María Luisa Borja [photo], the former head of police internal affairs who was sidelined eight years ago after repeatedly denouncing high-ranking police brass.

“The minister of security took away my gas budget so the cars couldn’t move. I started paying my own gas,” she said. “So he took my car.”

"Eventually her office was stripped of files and she was suspended for leaking information. The people she accused of murder and evidence-tampering were promoted, one of them to vice minister of security."

[Coralia Rivera (photo), now second in command in the police department, was charged but ultimately absolved for allegedly ordering the alteration of arms in police custody in 2002 so that the weapons could not be identified or tested as evidence in the extrajudicial executions of 50 people. The case remains unsolved the murderers remain in impunity.]

"Another ranking police investigator told The Herald he discovered that his supervisor allowed members of the special forces squad to double as bodyguards for drug traffickers. That supervisor is now a commissioner, the highest rank in the police department.

“Maybe the ratio of honest to corrupt in the police is 10 to 1. But it doesn’t help that nine are clean if the one who is dirty is in charge,” the investigator said. “In this country, bosses are named to specific posts with the purpose of facilitating the entry and exit of drugs.” [Some say the ratio of 'good cops' is more like 6 out of 10, but in my opinion, a cop who covers up for a dirty cop is just as guilty.]

The Miami Herald names more names:

"The most controversial name in law enforcement is Commissioner José Ricardo Ramírez del Cid [photo], the newly named director of the National Police."

[As I reported previously, Honduras' Iron Lady, Julieta Castellanos, whose son was murdered by police, made some damning comments about Ramírez del Cid including, "If something happens to me it is the fault of the police, primarily señor Ramírez del Cid, because there is no one more interested in something happening to me.... and no one more knowledgeable about corruption in the police since he was the former head of Intelligence."]

[You may remember that Ramirez del Cid was also the police official who, when summoned for questioning about the release of police officers accused of murdering two university students, showed up at the Prosecutor's office with 20 armed police lining the hallways, in what appeared to be an effort to intimidate the prosecutors.]

"The head of the police department’s internal affairs unit said there are at least four cases and multiple boxes of reports against Ramírez, involving allegations such as abuse of authority that have never been probed.

“I was surprised when he was named, because I saw people of higher rank who were passed over and I thought, ‘why weren’t those people named? What’s happening here?’ ” said internal affairs commissioner Santos Simeon Flores. “We are going to reactivate those cases. We really shouldn’t have cases up in the air like that.” [Internal Affairs no longer exists and has been replaced by a new separate civilian organization [Dirección de Investigación y Evaluación de la Carrera Policial — DIECP] which will have it's own budget and investigators. It remains to be seen whether this organization will be as incompetent, underfunded, and sabotaged as Internal Affairs was previously. Indications so far are not good. Under Santos Flores, the internal affairs organization failed to complete the majority of investigations for years on end, submitted only a small percentage of its cases for prosecution, and produced almost no results, certainly none among mid- to higher level police.]

The prison system is part of the corruption:

"In Honduras, managing prisons is one of the most lucrative jobs in the hierarchy of the National Police. Inmates pay bribes for everything from phones to freedom and are let out to commit more crimes at the behest of their captors, people familiar with the practice say." [In some cases, the practice of letting prisoners out to commit other crimes has been proven to be true when the inmate is killed or captured while committing a crime outside the prison walls. Other than that, there is no way to determine how frequently this happens. There have been recent cases in which we are told that the inmate (from the maximum security prison no less) had a "pass" signed by a judge and prison officials would have "violated the law" if they had not abided by the judge's orders, though they mentioned the possibility that the release orders may have been falsified. We were promised a thorough investigation. No further mention was made in the media and apparently the judges in question had no comment.]

"Prisons director Danilo Orellana [photo] insisted he has cleaned up the jails and that escapes, murders and crime are all on the decline, despite widespread overcrowding and a lack of resources. He said he had heard rumors that Pinot was sometimes let out, but denied that prisoners regularly go on drug runs." [More on Pinot in the next article. About once a month we read of raids within the prison and see photos of confiscated weapons, cell phones, and drugs which could could only be entering the prison grounds with the collusion or incompetence of prison guards.]

“I can tell you that during my term, it isn’t happening. The jails have changed a lot,” Orellana said. “I put my hand on the fire for myself. I do my things correctly.” [More on that in the next article.]

Now that this information has been published, the Honduran newspapers are reprinting the article, mostly without editorial comment so far. There have been no responses from police or government officials yet.

Please read my next article about the murder of one prisoner:

Celin Pinot, murdered to cover up criminal police activity?

Read the entire Miami Herald article here:

Graft, greed, mayhem turn Honduras into murder capital of world

The article is also available in Spanish here:

La corrupción de las autoridades ahoga a Honduras

Please also read this background story about Miami Herald reporter Frances Robles' trip to Honduras after one of her sources was killed.

The dangers of being a Honduran whistleblower