(Tegucigalpa) The former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, claimed by the American justice who suspects him of being linked to the trafficking of 500 tons of cocaine, was placed on Wednesday in pre-trial detention for at least a month by the judge of the Supreme Court which heard him on the request for his extradition to the United States.
Updated yesterday at 5:35 p.m.
The day after his arrest in Tegucigalpa, the former head of state (2013-2022) was heard on Wednesday morning for the first time by the judge responsible for examining the information sent by Washington to justify his request.
The latter rejected the request for house arrest presented by the defense and “decided to order the provisional detention […] in order to guarantee the presence” of Mr. Hernandez at a second hearing, set for March 16, said Supreme Court spokesman Melvin Duarte.
Until then, the United States will have to hand over to the judge “the evidence in support of the request for extradition […] and the penalties attached to the charges against Mr. Hernandez,” he added.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, 53, nicknamed “JOH”, is accused by American justice of having facilitated between 2004 and 2022 the passage of some 500 tons of cocaine through Honduras, knowing that the drug was intended for the United States, the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa said in a statement.
He would also have received “millions of dollars” in bribes from drug traffickers to prevent any investigation, detention or extradition against them.
In 2013, the year of his election as head of the country, he reportedly received a million dollars from the notorious Mexican criminal Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman.
The former president faces three counts: “criminal conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the United States”, “use or possession of firearms” and “criminal conspiracy to use or possession of firearms […] in pursuit of a scheme to import narcotics” into the United States.
Chained
Mr. Hernandez had been transferred Wednesday morning to the seat of the Supreme Court of Honduras in the midst of an imposing police deployment, with the support of armored vehicles and a helicopter.
Arrested Tuesday in his residence by the Honduran police in coordination with several American agencies, including the Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), the one who was still the head of state less than three weeks ago offered no resistance.
He was taken in chains to a police special forces station, where he spent the night.
Supporters of the former president and his National Party (PN, conservative) gathered in front of the Supreme Court and shouted “you are not alone! “.
The situation was tense with a group of supporters of the left-wing Free Party (in power) who, on the contrary, expressed their joy at seeing the former president appear in court.
The former right-wing leader ceded power on January 27 to left-wing President Xiomara Castro after two successive terms.
“Narco-State”
The former head of state, who presented himself as a champion in the fight against drug trafficking during his eight years in office (2014-2022), rejects these accusations and said he was “ready and willing to collaborate” a few hours before his arrest.
Plagued by violence, corruption and drug trafficking that has infiltrated state structures, Honduras is one of the poorest and most violent countries in Central America. 74% of the nearly 10 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.
In early February, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, declared that the former leader had “committed or facilitated acts of corruption and drug trafficking, and used the earnings of these illicit activities for political campaigns”.
Mr. Hernandez is accused of being the accomplice of his younger brother Antonio “Tony”, sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking in New York (United States) last year.
During his brother’s trial, US prosecutors accused JOH of turning Honduras into a “narco-state”.
Another close friend of the former head of state, Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, sentenced to life last week for drug trafficking in New York, said during the hearing that President Hernandez told him that they were going to “put the drugs in the nostrils of the gringos”.
The former head of state called these accusations “revenge”, claiming to have arrested and delivered to the United States many drug traffickers.