Photo: JORGE CABRERA/AA/PICTURE ALLIANCE / Deutsche Welle
Honduras will extradite between the 20 and 80 in April to former President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) to the United States, where he will be tried for drug trafficking, he estimated on Wednesday the Minister of Security, Ramón Sabillón.
“In the first days of this other week we will be meeting to make the necessary coordination” of the delivery, “ between Wednesday and Friday”, from the former president to the United States, the official told the local station Radio América.
The announcement comes a day after the 15 magistrates that make up the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) will sign the ruling that ratified the decision to extradite a Hernández, adopted by a judge of first instance on 16 of March.
The judge has already ordered “surrender” to the United States
With these documents in order, the judge “has ordered the immediate surrender of citizen Juan Orlando Hernández , this with the help of the Secretary of Security, Secretary of Defense and also the Foreign Ministry”, said the spokeswoman for the CSJ, Lucía Villars.
The judge notified the Executive Power to proceed with the extradition, required by the Court of the Southern District of New York.
Coordinations with the DEA
According to Minister Sabillón, coordination between the Honduran institutions and the United States anti-drug agency will take place these days ( DEA), which will arrive with the plane to take Hernández away.
The United States requested Honduras last 14 of February the extradition of Hernández, accused of “violent drug trafficking conspiracy (…) the conspiracy transported approximately 80.000 kilograms of cocaine through Honduras with destination to the United States”, even before he was president, between 2014 and 2022.
Since that date he has awaited the decision in the prison of a police station known as “Los Cobras”, in the east of Tegucigalpa.
Former police chief in extradition process
Hernández’s defense appealed, unsuccessfully, the judicial decision of extradition before the Supreme Court and then tried to prevent it with a writ of amparo, also rejected.
Another official awaiting extradition is the former head of the National Police, Juan Carlos the “Tiger” Bonilla, captured on March 9 accused by the United States of “supervising” the drug trafficking operations of former President Hernández.
The CSJ is following the same process as the former president with the former police chief.
“Tony” Hernández, former deputy and brother of the former president, is serving Life sentence in the United States, also for drug trafficking.
jc (reuters, efe, afp)