The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, was arrested this Tuesday at his residence in Palmas de San Ignacio, following an extradition request from the United States.
Hernández was taken by helicopter to court, where he will appear before Judge Edwin Francisco Ortez, appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Honduras to evaluate the extradition file. Ortez ordered the arrest of the former president on Tuesday.
Hundreds of policemen began an unprecedented deployment on Monday night outside the property of the former president, whom the United States accuses of trafficking in controlled substances and possession of weapons and conspiracy, among other charges.
The court process
The CSJ urgently summoned the 15 magistrates of the highest court in Honduras to discuss the extradition request presented by the United States against Hernández through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The court unanimously appointed Ortez to hear the case that has kept Honduras on edge since Monday afternoon, when the Foreign Ministry, via Twitter, announced that there was an arrest warrant against an “important politician.”
“There is no defined time for an arrest warrant nor has it been defined for now when the first hearing in this case will be. The elected magistrate will have to know the request in depth at this time,” said Melvin Duarte, spokesman for the CSJ.
Hernández will be presented on Wednesday morning at a first hearing where the charges against him will be read and the place where he will serve the arrest during the extradition process will be determined.
Juan Orlando Hernández’s team of lawyers has claimed that the police fence of up to 600 troops around the former president’s properties constituted a lack of due process.
Police officers handcuff former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández after he was detained by members of the Honduran National Police, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on February 15, 2022.
“I want to say that it is not the procedure established by law,” said Hermes Ramírez, one of his lawyers, who complained that the police fence even prevented access to the Human Rights Commissioner.
From the Honduran Secretary of Security, his spokesman, Miguel Martínez, confirmed that some 600 members of the police force were deployed to guarantee security and protect the former president’s properties from possible looting.
“We have more than 600 members of the National Police from different special units that are in a perimeter of more than two kilometers around (…) to prevent any illegal [act] in the area,” he told the press, who He has mounted guard all day around the house.
The accusatory document for extradition with an “unofficial” translation version requested by the United States embassy in Tegucigalpa indicates that the four charges against the president include trafficking in controlled substances to the United States, carrying and possession of weapons. and conspiracy.
The 53-year-old former president was accused by drug traffickers of having received bribes before coming to power in exchange for government contracts and protection against possible capture and extradition to the United States.
“It’s not an easy time, I wish that on no one,” Hernandez said.
National Party asks for guarantees for detainee
The National Party, which led Juan Orlando Hernández to the presidency for two terms, a political institute with 44 deputies in the National Congress, has shown solidarity with the former president.
“We sympathize with the personal situation that the former president of the Republic of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado, is going through, a beloved leader within our Political Institution,” the party said in a statement.
The right-wing party has also asked the judicial authorities to grant all constitutional guarantees to Hernández.
“We ask the bodies in charge of guaranteeing respectful treatment to the former president of the Republic of Honduras, which must be subject to the framework of human rights inherent to all Honduran citizens,” said the National Party, while highlighting as “valuable ” the former president’s announcement early on Tuesday that he was willing to collaborate and surrender voluntarily to the authorities.
“Historical fact”
The arrest of the former president was classified as “a success” and a “historic event” by the Minister of Security, Ramón Sabillón.
According to the official, “The Government has shown that it has the firmness to comply with the law.”
In Washington, a person familiar with the matter, quoted by Reuters , said the US government hoped that providing extensive details about the charges might persuade the Castro administration to act quickly, but still hopes that the procedures for the Supreme Court are prolonged due to the political sensitivity of the case.During his two terms, which added up to eight years, Hernández cultivated close ties with Washington and, in particular, won the support of former President Donald Trump, using the Honduran security forces to help the Republican reduce the migratory flow from Central America to the north.
However, in recent years, the United States has publicly shown its anger at the growth of corruption and the deficit of the rule of law in Honduras, which has the northern country as its largest trading partner.Hours after ceding power to the leftist Castro in January, Hernández took office as a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).The US State Department told VOA that Parlacen is not on the list of international organizations recognized under US law.
