TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras—Gunmen ambushed and killed the leader of Honduras' largest workers federation and two traveling companions on Thursday, the government said.
At least six assailants opened fire on a vehicle carrying Altagracia Fuentes and her companions as they traveled along the country's northern Caribbean coast, chief prosecutor Leonidas Rosa said.
Fuentes, 60, was the secretary of Honduras' Workers Federation, which has some 300,000 members. She had traveled to the region for an International Workers Day celebration on May 1.
Investigators believe the killings were planned in advance. They ruled out robbery because police found some US$4,000 (euro2,500) dollars in Fuentes' purse, Rosa said.
Hector Mejia, a spokesman with Honduras' Safety Department, said witnesses told police the gunmen were dressed in black and wearing ski masks when they attacked outside the city of San Pedro Sula.
"The criminals shot their victims ... at a dark and deserted place, and they used flares to illuminate the scene and finish them off," Mejia said.
rising
falling 