Los cachiros
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Cachiros or Los Cachiros is the name of a Honduran criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking. It was founded in the early 1990 by a group of ranchers in the departments of Colón and Olancho in Honduras.
One of the Cachiros' leaders, Javier Maradiaga, also known as "Javier Cachiro," turned himself in to the US government in January 2015. During his trial, Maradiaga pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.
After Maradiaga's statement, Honduran authorities seized assets valued between $500 million and $800 million from him. It is estimated that the Cachiros' estate is valued at more than a billion dollars.
In March 2017, Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga testified as a witness in the trial of Fabio Porfirio Lobo in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Rivera Maradiaga testified that, during the period from 2009 to 2013, the Honduran government assisted him in his drug trafficking operations by providing police intelligence, radar information, and assigning the military to provide security.
Rivera Maradiaga also said that his organization paid bribes to prominent members of the Honduran government including former President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The bribes were made in order to receive assistance for their operations and receive contracts for their companies.
Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga not only testified but also provided evidence in the form of voice recordings, videos, photographs, etc. His testimony will resume on Thursday, March 16.