Honduras appoints a judge to decide whether to extradite former President Juan Orlando Hernández to the US

The Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Honduras designates this Tuesday the judge who must resolve the extradition request presented by U.S against the former president John Orlando Hernandez (2014-2022), who is accused of drug trafficking.

For these purposes, the presidency of the CSJ “urgently summons the honorable magistrates to a plenary session” at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT).

LOOK: The US asks Honduras for the extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernández, accused of drug trafficking

the residence of Hernandezwho handed over power on January 27 to Xiomara Castro, woke up surrounded by a strong police contingent installed since Monday night, when the request for her extradition was revealed.

The former president released an audio in which He sent a message to all those who “have accompanied him with their prayers, with their good wishes (…) It is not an easy time. I wish that on no one.”

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“The National Police, through my attorneys, have already received the message that I am ready and ready to collaborate and voluntarily arrive with their accompaniment at the time that the natural judge, appointed by the honorable Supreme Court of Justice, so decides, to be able to face this situation and defend myself”he added.

the lawyer of HernandezHermes Ramírez, denounced on the TN5 newscast that his representative was being subjected to “outrages” as his home was surrounded by the police cordon, preventing access to his advisers.

Dozens of people came with banners to celebrate in front of his residence. Meanwhile, in other cities of the country, there were people who took to the streets with loudspeakers that broadcast at full volume with a catchy song that was “Juancho goes to New York”, according to videos that circulated on social networks.

Lawyer Félix Avila, who identified himself as a member of Hernández’s defense, said in a video that he hopes that the judge who is appointed will make “decisions in accordance with what the Constitution establishes” on “extraditions.”

After handing over power Hernandezknown by his initials JOH, was sworn in as a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), a benefit that all former presidents of the region have access to upon leaving office.

And despite the fact that his lawyers affirm that this gives him immunity, several analysts point out that he lacks that privilege because he does not enjoy that benefit in his country. In any case, the statutes of the regional assembly indicate that “at the request of the competent authorities of the country”, the Parlacen “may lift and suspend the immunities and privileges of its Deputies”.

Corruption and drug trafficking

The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, said last week that Hernández had been included on July 1, 2021 in the list of people accused of corruption or undermining democracy in Central America, for which he had ordered “the restrictions of visa against the former president (…) due to corrupt acts.”

New York prosecutors accused JOH of having ties to drug trafficking during the trial against his brother, former deputy “Tony” Hernández, who was sentenced in March 2021 to life in prison for that crime.

“According to multiple credible media reports,” Hernandez “has engaged in significant corruption by committing or facilitating corruption and drug trafficking, and by using the proceeds of illicit activities for political campaigns,” Blinken said.

US prosecutors referred to the former president as a “co-conspirator” and claimed that he turned Honduras into a “narco-state.”

Hernández affirms that the United States points to him based on “declarations of drug traffickers and confessed murderers” who were extradited by his government.

Attending the inauguration of Xiomara Castro, the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, welcomed the commitment of the new ruler to combat corruption and impunity.

Castro promised to dismantle laws passed during the Hernández government that reduced penalties for drug-trafficking and corruption crimes.

On February 8, another Honduran drug trafficker, Geovanny Fuentes Ramírez, was sentenced in New York to life in prison and fined 151.7 million dollars for sending “tons” of cocaine to the United States in collusion with high-ranking politicians, including the former president Hernandez.

Fabio Lobo, son of former Honduran president Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo (2010-2014) -of the National Party, the same as the Hernández- was sentenced to 24 years in prison in New York in 2017 for helping to traffic 1.4 tons of cocaine to the United States.

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Source: Elcomercio

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