Honduras ex-president Hernandez to be extradited to US

The Supreme Court in Honduras on Monday gave a green light for the extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez to the United States to face drug trafficking and weapons charges.

US prosecutors have accused 53-year-old Hernandez of receiving drug money between 2004 and 2022 to finance his political rise.

The accusations are part of a probe into Honduras' role as a transit point for large amounts of cocaine smuggled from South America to the United States.

Hernandez had appealed an earlier decision by a judge to allow extradition to the US on request of the Court of the Southern District of New York.

If found guilty, Hernandez could face a life sentence.

Honduran judiciary spokesman Melvin Duarte said that there were no further routes of appeal available to the former conservative president.

What charges does Hernandez face?

Hernandez faces a total of three charges — conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the US, conspiracy to use or carry firearms, and using or carrying firearms including machine guns.

Hernandez, who after eight years in office was replaced as president in January this year by leftist Xiomara Castro, is accused of facilitating the smuggling of nearly 500 tons of drugs, mostly from Colombia and Venezuela, to the US via Honduras since 2004.

US prosecutors also allege he received millions of dollars from drug traffickers for protecting them, including from Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

On February 15, Hernandez was arrested at his home at the request of the US government, following a dramatic stakeout.

The arrest came three weeks after he left office.

In March 2021, the ex-president's brother, Juan Antonio "Tony'' Hernandez, was sentenced to life in a US jail on drug and weapons charges.

What has Hernandez said?

Hernandez has continued to deny any wrongdoing and says that statements against him have been made by drug kingpins extradited by his government who wanted to seek "revenge" against him.

Monday saw dozens of protesters outside the courthouse in Tegucigalpa who proclaimed the ex-president's innocence.

Among them were Hernandez's wife Ana Garcia and the couple's two daughters.

Felix Avila, one of Juan Orlando Hernandez's lawyers, said "this is a decision by the Supreme Court and the fact that we don't agree with it does not mean it is illegal."

Hernandez's family emphasized in a statement later on Monday that the decision was not a criminal conviction.

"We're ready and confident that we'll be able to show the US justice system that these accusations are a revenge plot from Honduran narcos whose empire of crime and violence Juan Orlando destroyed."

Ex-first lady Ana Garcia published a letter in which the former president reasserted his innocence and claimed that he is a victim of "revenge and conspiracy.''

"Three life sentences could make me a living dead," wrote Hernandez, adding that it was "painful" to be separated from his loved ones.

dvv/wmr (AFP, AP, Reuters)