Honduras: claimed by the United States, the former Honduran president surrenders to the police
A still from a video provided by Honduran police shows former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (C) handcuffed after leaving his residence in Tegucigalpa on February 15, 2022. - Policía de Honduras/AFP
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Suspected by Washington of drug trafficking, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was arrested on Tuesday by special forces at his home, following an arrest warrant issued by a Supreme Court judge.
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The scene is for many Hondurans surreal.
Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who left power just 20 days ago after two four-year terms, was arrested on Tuesday outside his residence in the capital Tegucigalpa.
Dressed in blue, cap on his head, the former head of state was immediately equipped with a bulletproof vest and chained at the wrists and ankles.
His home had
been surrounded since Monday evening
by an impressive force of approximately 600 police officers, deployed following an extradition request issued the same day by the United States.
In the next 24 hours a hearing must take place to decide on his extradition.
Juan Orlando Hernandez who claims his innocence and claims to be the victim of revenge for having arrested and delivered to the United States many drug traffickers, is rightly suspected by the
American justice
of drug trafficking.
His
younger brother
was already sentenced last March in the United States to life imprisonment for drug trafficking.
New York prosecutors suspect Juan Orlando Hernandez of being his accomplice.
Another relative bailed him out last week for the same reason of life imprisonment.
During the trial, prosecutors accused the former president of helping the defendant smuggle cocaine into the United States.
In Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez is also accused by his political opponents of corruption in the context of infrastructure and supply contracts to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, revealed on February 7 that Mr. Hernandez appeared, since July 1, 2021, on a list of people accused by the United States of corruption or attacks on democracy in Central America. .
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Honduras
Juan Hernández
Justice
United States
Corruption