Honduras Seeks 13 Missing Citizens Lured to Russia by Fake Job Offers, Checks Reports of Five Deaths
The Foreign Ministry says at least 33 Hondurans were deceived by offers spread on social media, and it is collecting DNA samples from relatives as families wait for word.
See where this is ›TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras —
Honduras' Foreign Ministry is searching for at least 13 citizens who went missing after traveling abroad on false job offers, and it is working to verify reports that at least five Hondurans have died, La Prensa and the news agency EFE reported Oct. 30 and 31. The reports point to Russia and to the war in Ukraine.
See where this is ›Nancy López, the ministry's director of protection for Honduran migrants, told reporters about 33 Hondurans were “practically defrauded” by the offers, according to EFE, which reported in Spanish. She said 12 have returned home safely. Ministry records cited by La Prensa also list three people hospitalized with injuries, one prisoner of war and one under the protection of a refuge organization.
The ministry is in contact with relatives to gather information, conduct interviews and obtain DNA samples. López said the number could rise and urged families who know of similar cases to come forward.
See where this is ›Returnees told La Prensa they found the offers mainly on Facebook. The ads promised farm and construction work in Russia, a $17,000 signing bonus and $3,000 a month. On arrival, the returnees said, their passports and phones were taken, and recruits were sent to a training barracks for about two weeks and then to the front.
Brothers Olvin David Banegas and Ricardo, of Yamahuare village in Cantarranas municipality, Francisco Morazán, told La Prensa they were promised construction jobs, a $30,000 payment for signing and $2,600 a month. After about two weeks in Russia, Banegas said, they were told they would become active members of the Russian army. They asked the Honduran consulate for help and made it home. La Prensa reported their mother had feared she would hold their wake.
Among the missing is Mario Roberto López of La Ceiba, Atlántida, who directed the vehicle registry office in La Ceiba under the previous government. His family last heard from him at the end of August. A friend, Nery Chinchilla, said a Russian company contacted him about a logistics and inventory job after he posted his résumé on job sites. Relatives fear he was recruited to fight, though he has no military experience.
In a notice dated Oct. 27, the ministry warned that such offers may not look like military hiring. They may be framed as civilian jobs in farming, cleaning, snow removal, cooking or private security and spread through social media and WhatsApp. It advised people to verify the employer, get a valid work visa, never hand over a passport, never sign papers in a language they cannot read, and be wary of unusually high pay or travel paid by a third party. The ministry published a hotline for checking offers: +504 3221-7309.
What we don't know yet: The five deaths are not confirmed; the ministry is validating them with families. The reported categories do not add up to 33, and neither report explains the gap. No employer or recruiting network has been named, and we found no response from Russia in these reports.
