Ex-Honduras prez detained after US seeks extradition
TEGUCIGALPA: Honduran police detained ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Tuesday, escorting him from his home in handcuffs and chains, following a US extradition request on drug charges that marked a dramatic fall from grace only weeks after he left power.
In live footage shown on national TV, police officials gave Hernandez a bullet-proof vest and placed a chain between his handcuffed wrists and ankles before taking him to a nearby base for police special forces in Tegucigalpa, the capital.
Hernandez was shown seated at a table where doctors undertook a medical examination in front of the media, including unbuttoning his shirt to put a stethoscope on his chest, according to live HCH Noticias images.
Hernandez was then driven away.
The right-wing former leader’s detention came after a Honduran judge on Tuesday ordered his arrest following the US extradition request on drugtrafficking and weapons charges. A US Embassy document, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, showed that US authorities charged that Hernandez participated in a drug-trafficking scheme between 2004 and 2022.
The document alleged Hernandez was part of an operation to receive tonnes of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela, which were to be shipped onwards to the United States.
Hernandez received millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for protecting traffickers from investigation and prosecution, the document said. The firearms charges included carrying, using, or aiding and abetting the use of weapons, including machine guns.
Hernandez, 53, who was replaced as president last month by leftist Xiomara Castro, has pledged to cooperate with national police. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Washington’s request for extradition was in stark contrast to a period when the US government saw Hernandez as a vital ally in volatile Central America during his eight years in power.