In a press release, the Honduran National Police condemned the incident, stating that operations are underway to capture the perpetrators and that such criminal activity is a response by organized crime against the State's institutional framework for anti-crime actions.
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The police officers who were killed in the line of duty were identified as class I police officer Jairo Marcelino Posadas Ortiz aged 37, along with officers Jonathan Josué Ramos 27, and Juan Carlos Murillo Olivera, 37.
According to preliminary reports, the incident took place on Sunday afternoon in the village of Agua María, municipality of Trujillo in the department of Colon. While the agents were patrolling the area and proceeding to inspect a red pick-up vehicle with flat tires that they found on the side of the road, unknown subjects shot at them, killing a total of three National Police agents.
The President ordered to restrict the movement and borders of Colon, establishing checkpoints throughout the country until those responsible are captured. In this regard, the country's National Police has reported that operations are being carried out with special and investigative units of the police force.
"We are ready and willing to accompany the measures considered by our president Xiomara Castro", said Rafael Sarmiento, president of the Security Commission of the National Congress, on Radio América, regarding the acts of violence in the department of Colón.
Gustavo Sánchez Velásquez, Director General of the National Police, said that he ordered an operation across the area to track, identify, locate and capture the suspects of the criminal attack. "We will not rest until we find the whereabouts of those who cowardly killed our police officers", the official added.
The Secretariat of States in the Security Office condemned the criminal action. It said that "we will be energetic in the fight against crime and will not tolerate this type of actions which jeopardize the stability of citizen security".