President Juan Orlando Hernandez yesterday said at a news conference that any police official mentioned in a report published by the newspaper El Heraldo would be suspended and brought before justice.
Prosecution agents raided an old National Police headquarters in the capital looking for evidence in the alleged plot. After an eight-hour search, they left the building with a large number of documents, prosecution spokesman Carlos Morazan said.
Chavez was known as a highly effective, professional prosecutor. Landaverde was an outspoken critic of corruption in Honduran law enforcement. Both he and Chavez had received death threats, and both were gunned down in the streets.
National Police spokesman Leonel Sauceda apologised to the nation at a news conference, saying that "for what has happened at out institution, I ask forgiveness."
Honduras has long been an open area of operation for Mexican and local drug cartels, and it has long been believed they could not operate without at least tacit support from the police.
Evidence of corruption, such as studies indicating that 7 per cent to 9 per cent of Honduran police officers use illicit drugs, have led to efforts to clean up police departments with little success.
The force has almost 14,000 members. After nearly four years of background checks and testing, 33 have been ordered fired, but only seven dismissal orders have been carried out.