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        {"code":"26012","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"695","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202202\/centroamerica\/26012","link_edit":"","name":"Former US Ally in Cuffs","slug":"former-us-ally-in-cuffs","info":"The U.S. asked for the extradition of former president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez on drug trafficking charges, just weeks after he left office. His potential extradition could mark the first political win of the government of Xiomara Castro and seal her alliance with Washington. Hern\u00e1ndez, detained Tuesday, said he will cooperate.","mtag":"Newsletter","noun":{"html":"El Faro English","data":{"el-faro-english":{"sort":"","slug":"el-faro-english","path":"el_faro_english","name":"El Faro English","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"695","pict":{"cms-image-000036990-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"36990","name":"cms-image-000036990.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000036990.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000036990.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000036990-jpg","text":"","capt":""},"cms-image-000037062-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"37062","name":"cms-image-000037062.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037062.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037062.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037062-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Former president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez with the Honduran National Police following his arrest on Feb. 15, 2022. Photo: AFP&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EFormer president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez with the Honduran National Police following his arrest on Feb. 15, 2022. Photo: AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":37062,"date":{"live":"2022\/02\/15"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"02","data_post_dateLive_DD":"15","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/suscribe\/en\/\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESubscribe to our newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe image will remain engraved in Central Americans\u2019 memory: \u003Cstrong\u003EJuan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez, president of Honduras for eight years, detained and handcuffed\u003C\/strong\u003E before cameras just two weeks after leaving power.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Monday night, the Honduran Foreign Ministry \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cancilleriahn\/status\/1493358120206221313?s=24\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eannounced\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E it had received a U.S. extradition request for a \u201cHonduran politician.\u201d Hours later, the press confirmed the politician was former President Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez, named as a co-conspirator in his brother Tony Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s conviction on drug trafficking charges in New York.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.univision.com\/univision-news\/latin-america\/ex-honduran-president-hernandez-agress-to-cooperate-after-u-s-requests-extradition\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Echarges\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E in the extradition request include three counts of drug trafficking. Military and police surrounded Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s home Monday night waiting for an arrest warrant, which was issued by a judge and carried out Tuesday. His capture \u003Cstrong\u003Eended months of speculation about his whereabouts and post-presidency plans\u003C\/strong\u003E, including widespread rumors he would seek asylum in Nicaragua.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAt 5:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Hern\u00e1ndez published an audio \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuanOrlandoH\/status\/1493553766062243840\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Emessage\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E via Twitter: \u201cThis is not an easy moment. I don\u2019t wish it on anyone,\u201d he said. \u201cI am ready to collaborate and arrive voluntarily with their escort, when a judge is designated by the Supreme Court, to confront this situation and defend myself.\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez, who has repeatedly said that any trafficking allegations are lies invented by vengeful cartels, maintains his innocence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe extradition request came just two weeks after President Xiomara Castro of the leftist Libre party took office, marking \u003Cstrong\u003Ea new tone in U.S. policy toward Honduras\u003C\/strong\u003E and naming the elephant in the room. In recent years, the absence of Hern\u00e1ndez from regional anti-corruption lists has often been a major point of criticism for U.S. policy in the region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=1024&ImageHeight=682&ImageId=37062 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Former president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez with the Honduran National Police following his arrest on Feb. 15, 2022. Photo: AFP\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Former president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez with the Honduran National Police following his arrest on Feb. 15, 2022. Photo: AFP \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe case represents a \u201cshift\u201d in terms of high-profile corruption cases in Honduras, where \u003Cstrong\u003Eno president has been convicted for crimes committed while in office\u003C\/strong\u003E, according to Julio Raudales, vice rector of international relations at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). (Rafael Callejas, president from 1990 to 1994, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/12\/sports\/soccer\/rafael-callejas-dead.html#:~:text=Rafael%20Callejas%2C%20a%20former%20president%20of%20Honduras%20who%20was%20ensnared,He%20was%2076\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Epled guilty in Brooklyn in 2016 to wire fraud and racketeering\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E in a sweeping FIFA bribery scandal.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cHonduras has now made this step,\u201d Raudales said. \u201cThis is going to pressure the country so that the justice system is more effective at controlling crime.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHern\u00e1ndez\u2019s extradition request brings the Biden and Castro administrations closer and ends the United States\u2019 once-close relationship with Hern\u00e1ndez.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe case is an example of \u003Cstrong\u003Ehow the U.S. government interacts with \u201cdictatorships and drug traffickers\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u201d said Joaqu\u00edn Mej\u00eda, lawyer with Honduran research group ERIC-SJ and the Honduran Legal Team for Human Rights (EJDH). \u201cThe U.S. has only interests and no allies,\u201d Mejia told El Faro English. \u201cWhen it doesn\u2019t need these pawns, it discards them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrotherly Reunion?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cSending Juanchi to New York\u201d where \u201cthe gringos are waiting for him\u201d \u2014 as President Xiomara\u2019s most well-known campaign song goes \u2014 now depends on the Honduran justice system following through with the extradition request.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMej\u00eda said the extradition process under Honduran law is simple and should be \u003Cstrong\u003Eresolved within days given Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s importance and the high risk of evading justice\u003C\/strong\u003E the longer he stays in Honduras. Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s legal team said it expected the process to take up to three to four months, as evidenced by the past 32 extradition requests, setting the stage for a potential judicial showdown with implications for other powerful interests in Honduras.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cHaving JOH here is a hot potato for the political class,\u201d Mej\u00eda said. \u201cBut there are also groups interested in not extraditing him because of the information he has.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/support.elfaro.net\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=1440&ImageHeight=380&ImageId=36990 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHern\u00e1ndez will now face a \u003Cstrong\u003Epreliminary hearing set for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.\u003C\/strong\u003E Central Time, in which the charges against him are read, and then a second hearing in which evidence is presented.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ERaudales of UNAH believes that now that the wheels have been put into motion for the extradition request, it\u2019s unlikely Hern\u00e1ndez will be able to escape. \u201cMr. Hern\u00e1ndez is going to the U.S. and he is going to be tried there,\u201d Raudales said.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EA constitutional \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elheraldo.hn\/honduras\/en-vigencia-reforma-que-permite-extradicion-por-narcotrafico-crimen-organizado-y-terrorismo-EOEH568837\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ereform\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that went into effect in 2014 allows for extradition in cases of drug trafficking. There should be no purely legal grounds to oppose the terms of the extradition, according to Mej\u00eda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cIf [the Supreme Court magistrates] do it, it\u2019s a political decision, and reckless, furthermore, because we\u2019re talking about the U.S. and the \u003Cstrong\u003Ebiggest drug boss in the region in recent years\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u201d said Mej\u00eda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe current Supreme Court judges were named under Hern\u00e1ndez. The new government will not have a chance to name new magistrates until 2023.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEven if the court grants the request, Hern\u00e1ndez could appeal. And there are other ways Hern\u00e1ndez could avoid extradition, such as through \u003Cstrong\u003Echarges brought against him in a Honduran court, which would halt his extradition\u003C\/strong\u003E by requiring him to face justice in Honduras, where the court system is more vulnerable to political manipulation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAttempts to evade justice would be highly unpopular in Honduras and likely lead to mass protests, said Mej\u00eda, adding: \u201cIn the end, the state has the sovereign decision to decide whether to extradite him or not.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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