Juan Orlando Hernandez, the ex-Honduran president was extradited to the US to face drug charges. Here’s more on it.
Juan Orlando Hernandez extradited to face drug charges in the US
On Thursday, the former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was extradited to the United States to face a trial. He allegedly helped in smuggling around 500 tons of cocaine to the US and received bribes for the same. The 53-year-old was president of Honduras between 2014 to 2022.
During his presidency, he was plagued by allegations of corruption. Additionally, he might end up spending the rest of his life in prison following his conviction. According to AFP, he was in a Drug Enforcement Administration plane from an air force base in Tegucigalpa. His family called him a “victim of revenge by the drug traffickers he had extradited or forced to flee to the United States”.
What are the allegations against the ex-president?
Juan Orlando Hernandez has accusations of aiding in smuggling around 500 tons of cocaine, mainly from Venezuela and Columbia. The drugs were sent to the US via Honduras in 2004, several years before his presidency. As per US Embassy reports, he received “millions of dollars in bribes. From multiple narcotrafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and other places”. he currently has three counts of drug and weapon offenses in the US.
During his tenure, he was portraying himself as an ally of the US and its war against drugs. He aided in extraditing several narcotic kingpins. Despite the one-term constitutional limit, Washington was supporting his re-election in 2017. “Hernandez abused his position as President of Honduras. To operate the country as a narco-state,” stated US Attorney General Merrick Garland. A warrant came merely three weeks after leaving office. However, the ex-president surrendered to the police on February 15 and was held at the special forces prison in Tegucigalpa.
