By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is expected to make an initial appearance in a federal court in Manhattan on Friday, one day after being extradited to the United States on drug and weapons charges.
U.S. prosecutors said Hernandez, once a Washington ally, received millions of dollars from drug traffickers including Mexico’s Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman while leading Honduras from 2014 to early 2022.
Hernandez used the money to enrich himself and finance his political campaigns, in return for protecting traffickers from arrest and giving them access to law enforcement information, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday.
The defendant faces three criminal counts, including cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons possession.
Hernandez has strongly denied the allegations, portraying himself as a fierce opponent of drug cartels and accusing traffickers of smearing him to extract revenge and lighten their sentences.
A U.S.-based lawyer for Hernandez, Raymond Colon, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. President Joe Biden has focused on tackling corruption in Central America, with an eye toward stemming the tide of migrants from the region to the United States.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Thursday that Honduras’ current government “wants our help” in tackling drugs.
Hernandez’s indictment is dated Jan. 27, when he was replaced as the country’s president by leftist Xiomara Castro, who defeated Nasry Asfura from Hernandez’s right-leaning National Party in November.
The U.S. Department of Justice generally refrains from indicting sitting heads of state. The Honduran Supreme Court authorized Hernandez’s extradition in March.
Hernandez’s younger brother, former Honduran congressman Tony Hernandez, was sentenced to life in prison in March 2021 after being convicted in Manhattan on federal drug trafficking charges.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
