Honduras is preparing to extradite its former president, Juan Orlando Hernández, to the United States. Less than 24 hours after the US justice requested the capture and extradition of Hernández, who arrived on Monday night, the authorities of the Central American country accepted the request.
It all happened in the middle of a convulsive Tuesday for Honduras: in the morning the Judiciary appointed a “Natural Judge” in charge of studying the request that had just been sent by the White House and, in a matter of hours, he agreed to start the process. .
Moments after the approval of justice to the request of the United States, John Orlando Hernandez He was captured at his home in an operation led by members of the Police who guarded the house for hours.
The former ruler was handcuffed at the hands and feet in front of the entrance gate of his residence. Hernández He left his house covered with a blue cap and mask of the same color after 2 in the afternoon, local time, and immediately, policemen put a bulletproof vest on him.
He was then put into an armored vehicle, one of several from a caravan, and taken to a unit of the National Police where would he be giving his first preliminary statementas part of the judicial process on extradition.
With this, Honduras is preparing an operation to arrest the former president who just left the Presidency on January 27. Juan Orlando Hernández will be detained by the Police for his subsequent transfer to the United States, where is required by corruption and drug trafficking.
His brother Tony Hernández is in prison in that country and is facing a life sentence for the same crimes.
The Secretary of Security of the Central American nation will be in charge of coordinating the entire process to manage the extradition of the former president: He was already captured and within 24 hours he would be presented before the competent judge to continue the process in the courts.
According to the Minister of Security, Ramón Sabillón, Hernández stayed all day at home with his family, in the exclusive residential area of San Ignacio, in eastern Tegucigalpa, where hundreds of people gathered to support the former president. Sabillón was in charge of leading all the efforts to capture him.
Hernández’s house was surrounded by members of the Public Force since Monday night, hundreds of policemen and soldiers armed with automatic rifles.
The Honduran Supreme appointed Judge Edwin Ortéz to hear the request made Monday by the United States, which He accuses Hernández of drug trafficking and use and possession of weapons.