Ricardo Maduro
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Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest (born April 20, 1946 in Panama), is a former Bank of Honduras chairman and wealthy, Stanford educated businessman. He became President of Honduras on January 27, 2002, representing the National Party of Honduras.
Maduro has three daughters and a son from his first marriage. The son, Ricardo Ernesto, 25, was kidnapped on 23 April 1997, and his body was discovered 2 days later. This incident both inspired Maduro to aspire for the presidency and gave him the popularity that allowed him to first register and then be elected as a presidential candidate in spite of a constitutional ban on those not born in Honduras from becoming President. This constitutional ban created great controversy before the 2001 elections. Having been chosen as the PNH candidate, he was eventually allowed to stand. In his campaign he promised to tackle crime and the gangs (maras), and immediately brought troops out on to the streets of the large cities accompanying the local police. The National Congress have passed laws making illicit association a crime, and putting many behind bars in an attempt to clamp down on the gangs. Generally it has met with very little success, and an apathy from the population in the face of the inability of Maduro's government to actually clamp down on the high levels of delincuency, violent crime and drugs.
In October of 2002, he married the Spanish-Honduran Aguas Santas Ocana Navarro, with whom he has adopted five other children.
On 1 May, 2005 the plane Maduro was traveling in crashed into the Caribbean Sea off the shore of Tela. Maduro, his daughter Lorena, and the pilot were reportedly not seriously injured and were rescued by local residents. Maduro was taken to a hospital in Comayagua to recover.
See also: History of Honduras and Security situation in Honduras