**Gunmen in Honduras have shot dead the head of the country’s anti-drug trafficking operations.**Police said retired Gen Julian Aristides Gonzalez was travelling in a car in the capital, Tegucigalpa, when attackers on a motorcycle opened fire.
Honduras is a major route for drugs smuggled from South to North America.
The nation, mired in political crisis since President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in June, also has one of the highest murder rates in the region.
Gen Aristides, director general of the national office for combating drug trafficking, was travelling by car through Tegucigalpa when two attackers on a motorcycle opened fire, police said.
He was reportedly travelling alone, without bodyguards.
On Monday, Gen Aristides had presented a report about drug trafficking through Honduras and voiced concern about the number of landing strips in Honduras that traffickers were using.
He said land owners who allowed their property to be used could face charges of involvement in drug smuggling.
Honduras has long been seen as a transit route for cocaine smuggled from Colombia to the US.
The Central American country has seen political upheaval this year after President Zelaya was ousted in June. He remains holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Elections at the end of November, recognised by some but not all countries in the Americas, saw Porfirio Lobo chosen as the next leader. He is due to take office on 27 January.