The United States has asked Honduras to extradite former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who left power last month and is suspected by Washington of drug trafficking. The Honduran Supreme Court will convene at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday to appoint a judge to hear the request.
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The residence of Mr. Hernandez was surrounded by a strong contingent of police as soon as the announcement, Monday evening, of the request for extradition confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Honduras. “I am ready and willing to collaborate and surrender voluntarily” to meet “the judge who will be appointed by the honorable Supreme Court so that I can deal with this situation and defend myself“said the former president in an audio message.
Mr. Hernandez’s lawyer, Hermes Ramirez, considered that this police deployment, which according to him prevented the former president’s advisers from accessing his home, constituted a “reachedto the rights of his client. Mr. Hernandez, replaced on January 27 in the presidency by his political rival Xiomara Castro, has since been a member of the Central American Parliament by right, a privilege enjoyed by all former heads of state in the region after leaving power.
Mr. Hernandez’s defense claims that this function grants him immunity, but several analysts point out that “at the request of the competent authorities of the country“, the parliament “may waive and suspend the immunity of its deputies“. Mr. Hernandez, 53, usually referred to by his initials JOH, left power after two terms at the head of Honduras since 2014.
His younger brother and former deputy, Antonio “TonyHernandez, was sentenced in March 2021 in the United States to life in prison for drug trafficking. New York prosecutors suspect JOH of being his accomplice.