Current:Home > InvestHonduran opposition party leader flees arrest after being stopped in airport before traveling to US-InfoLens
Honduran opposition party leader flees arrest after being stopped in airport before traveling to US
View Date:2024-12-23 17:11:32
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The president of Honduras’ main opposition party fled an international airport Tuesday breaking through a parking gate with his pickup truck after immigration agents stopped him for carrying two passports before he boarded a flight to the United States, authorities said.
David Chávez Madison, president of the National Party, fled the Palmerola International Airport around 3 a.m. Tuesday, leaving behind his passports when immigration agents called him for a second inspection, Allan Alvarenga, director of Honduras’ immigration agency told local press.
Chávez fled the terminal dressed in a black baseball cap, black jacket and black pants, according to images released by authorities.
The passport issue, however, may not have been Chávez’s main problem.
Hours later, a judge ordered Chávez’s capture based on the investigation of a 2016 complaint by the nongovernmental National Anticorruption Council related to irregularities during Chávez’s time as director of the National Institute of Professional Training, a government agency managing workforce training programs.
The alleged irregularities concern a bidding process in 2012 and 2013 in which a significantly inflated contract was awarded to outfit regional training centers in several Honduran cities, said Yuri Mora, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office.
Security Minister Gustavo Sánchez said in a news conference Tuesday that the search for Chávez was underway.
Chávez knew he was under investigation and held a news conference Monday to dismiss it as a political persecution.
Honduras is embroiled in political turmoil as the ruling party of President Xiomara Castro has tried to exert control over the justice system. Castro’s allies in Congress have appointed an interim attorney general, a move analysts and constitutional scholars have declared illegal.
The opposition, including Chávez, has accused Castro of consolidating power and eroding the country’s system of checks and balances.
____
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
veryGood! (61)
Related
- Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is ending her retirement at age 40 to make a skiing comeback
- Martin Scorsese on the saints, faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be
- Statue of the late US Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, is unveiled in his native Alabama
- Kyle Richards Swears This Holiday Candle Is the Best Scent Ever and She Uses It All Year
- Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores in an effort to turn its business around
- Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chancellor to step down at end of academic year
- How Kim Kardashian Navigates “Uncomfortable” Situations With Her 4 Kids
- Stop What You're Doing—Moo Deng Just Dropped Her First Single
- Kentucky governor says investigators will determine what caused deadly Louisville factory explosion
Ranking
- Caitlin Clark has one goal for her LPGA pro-am debut: Don't hit anyone with a golf ball
- South Carolina to take a break from executions for the holidays
- Paraguay vs. Argentina live updates: Watch Messi play World Cup qualifying match tonight
- Jake Paul's only loss led him to retool the team preparing him to face Mike Tyson
- Summer I Turned Pretty's Gavin Casalegno Marries Girlfriend Cheyanne Casalegno
- Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
- Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress
- Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
Recommendation
-
What’s the secret to growing strong, healthy nails?
-
Top Federal Reserve official defends central bank’s independence in wake of Trump win
-
Who will save Florida athletics? Gators need fixing, and it doesn't stop at Billy Napier
-
High-scoring night in NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo explodes for 59, Victor Wembanyama for 50
-
Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
-
Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game
-
Dozens indicted over NYC gang warfare that led to the deaths of four bystanders
-
She's a trans actress and 'a warrior.' Now, this 'Emilia Pérez' star could make history.