In a surprising message via Twitter, the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, said he was willing to surrender to the police authorities of his country to face accusations against him, after the extradition request made by the Government of the United States.
“The purpose of this message is that the National Police, through my proxies, have already received the message that I am ready and ready to collaborate and voluntarily arrive with their accompaniment in the moment that the natural judge appointed by the honorable Supreme Court of Justice so decides, to be able to face this situation and defend myself”, Hernández said.
At 5: 44 at dawn, Honduras time. That is, at 6: 44 in the morning Eastern time in the United States, the former president published the audio message on his official account on Twitter.
That happened a few hours after The The Washington Post will reveal the formal extradition request made by the United States Department of Justice against Hernández, who is accused of protecting cartel members, including “facilitating the use of Honduran armed forces personnel for his security.”
The name of the former Honduran president was mentioned in the trials of his brother Antonio “Tony” Hernández and Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, who faced proceedings in the New York Southern District court.
In some of the testimonies it was even pointed out that e the former Honduran president received bribes from Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, who was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and faces life imprisonment in Colorado.
On February 7, the government of President Joe Biden gave made known that on July 1, 2021 he included the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, on a “black list” for corruption and links to crime organized, so your entry into the country with a visa will be denied.
It was the Department of State responsible for confirming Hernández’s inclusion on the list of “Corrupt and anti-democratic actors in the United States,” under Section 44 of the Northern Triangle-United States Enhanced Engagement Act.
“Enlisted persons are not eligible for visas and admission to the United States,” the Biden Administration indicated.
The process against Hernández was not reported before and although the Biden Administration does not mention the motive vo, between July and December of last year the Central American country was in the middle of the electoral process, which was won by the current president Xiomara Castro.
In early February, Senator Bob Menéndez (New Jersey), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, asked to “mark” Hernández as a “drug trafficker.”
“As detailed in our report to Congress, according to multiple credible media reports, Juan Orlando Hernández has engaged in significant corruption by committing or facilitating acts of corruption and drug trafficking,” the State Department later indicated.