The United States demanded extradition shortly after former President Juan Orlando Hernandez lost his indictment. This is accused of running an extensive drug business with his brother.
The former president was besieged by police and soldiers in Honduras, Central America Juan Orlando Hernandezin house on Monday night. The country’s State Department announced that it had forwarded to the Supreme Court information about the extradition request made by the U.S. Embassy.
Although the name of the politician required to be extradited was not initially disclosed, the vice president of Honduras Salvador Nasralla confirmed to the news agency AP that this is the former president of the country.
Hernandez’s lawyer protests against the arrest project. Rumors of the exile of Hernandez spread in Honduras in the past. He tried to dispel rumors by posting pictures over the weekend of him playing with his dogs.
The surrender request was made expeditiously
Hernandez’s presidency ended in January.
The former president was then appointed to represent the country in the Central American parliament. Membership of this body no longer seems to have helped Hernandez.
The United States was expected to intervene and demand the extradition of the former president as soon as he has lost the prosecution offered by his position. That’s what happened.
In the fall, Honduras won the presidential election in clear numbers as a left-wing candidate Xiomara Castro. The country’s first female president to take office at the end of January is the president ousted in the 2009 coup. Manuel Zelayan spouse.
The change of power marked the beginning of the end
For Hernandez, the change of power marked the beginning of the end. In the United States, the federal prosecutor’s office had long been investigating serious allegations against Hernandez.
According to them, he had been involved in his brother’s drug business, with the profits of which he had financed his political career.
Ex-president’s brother Juan Antonio Hernandez received a life sentence in the United States a year ago for drug and arms trafficking.
Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Laroche described his crimes as “state-sponsored drug trafficking.” The accused was said to have extorted bribes from drug traffickers to his brother.
In some cases, the charter of drug cargo was protected by Honduran police. Like his brother, Antonio Hernandez was a member of the country’s political elite, and was a member of the country’s congress.
The president changed from an ally to a drug boss
Elected President of the country in 2014, Hernandez paved the way for the country’s politics in the late 1990s. Hernandez, who is from rural Honduras, first rose to the presidency.
The constitutional amendment allowed the extradition of drug traffickers to the United States. In a country plagued by violent crime and drug trafficking, the new president, Hernandez, initially began a fight against gangs, reports the Guardian magazine. (switch to another service) The prisons were filled and drug lords were extradited to the United States.
However, the president’s decision to run for a second term, contrary to the Honduran constitution, was already too much for many. Through his abuses, he succeeded in securing the continuation of his reign.
The criminal activities of the president’s brother became more and more prominent. It had a laboratory for the manufacture of drugs, and a helicopter was also used to transport illegal cargo.
The president’s brother was arrested in Miami and he was brought to justice.
U.S. officials had also found that the president’s brother’s accomplices avoided deportations.
Now the former president is allowed to follow his brother. Last week, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that according to reliable data, Hernandez has promoted drug trafficking and corruption, and illegally supported its own political position.
Hernandez has denied the accusations he has branded himself in retaliation for the drug barons he deported and convicted in the United States. Now it looks like the former president will end up in the same company himself.