RIGORES — Honduran authorities arrested Carlos Molina, also known as "El Gato Negro" or "The Black Cat," on Tuesday for allegedly masterminding the massacre of 19 palm plantation workers in Rigores last month. The killings occurred in the Bajo Aguan region of Honduras, an area marked by violence linked to organized crime.
Security Minister Gerzon Velasquez said Carlos Molina is suspected of planning and providing material support for the massacre. According to officials, at least six people carried out the attack under Molina’s alleged direction, though none of the other suspects have been apprehended.
Molina, 27, is the first person taken into custody in connection with the mass killing, which has drawn national attention to ongoing violence in the Bajo Aguan region. Authorities have not released details about how the operation was coordinated or what motive drove the attack, but the area has long been a flashpoint for conflict between rival gangs competing for control of palm farms and drug trafficking routes.
The arrest follows broader efforts by the Honduran government to combat organized crime. Lawmakers recently approved reforms authorizing the military to take part in public security operations. The legislation also creates a new anti-organized crime unit and opens the possibility of designating gangs and drug cartels as terrorist groups.
Honduras recorded a homicide rate of 24 killings per 100,000 inhabitants in recent official data. While violence has declined from peak levels in the early 2010s, regions like Bajo Aguan remain vulnerable to outbreaks of mass violence tied to agricultural land disputes and illicit trafficking.
Officials said the massacre in Rigores is one of the deadliest single incidents in the Bajo Aguan region in recent years. The palm plantation where the killings occurred has been the subject of ownership disputes involving multiple private firms and former cooperative members, according to government records.