The former president of Honduras, John Orlando Hernandezpleaded “not guilty” this Tuesday before a New York court that judges him for drug trafficking, the same day that his former police chief was also extradited to the United States.
When questioned by the judge, Hernández, 53, pleaded “not guilty” in Spanish to the charges, liable to life in prison. The prosecution now has 60 days to prepare the evidence and the defense a similar period to analyze it.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 28 and it will define the date of the trial, which is expected to begin at the beginning of next year with the constitution of the jury that with its ruling will seal the future of the former president.
Dressed in short-sleeved navy blue pants and a blouse and underneath an orange T-shirt and sneakers, the color of prisoners in US prisons, Hernández, who was extradited to the United States on April 21, seemed relaxed. Entering the audience room, he addressed the large audience and made a brief salute with his hand on his heart.
This did not prevent him from hearing expletives from the public at the end of his appearance, calling him “Rat”, “Murderer”, “Repent, Juan Orlando!”.
“In solitary confinement”
His lawyer, Raymond Colon, complained to the judge about the conditions of his client’s detention, whom he said is “incommunicado.”
According to the lawyer, he has only been able to visit his client twice in the 20 days that the former Honduran president has been detained, who cannot “make calls to his family or access email, or exercise.”
Conditions that the lawyer compared to those of a “prisoner of war” or “a terrorist” or someone who has “killed someone”, to which some people in the public reacted with laughter.
The judge promised that he would ask the government authorities to contact the detention center staff to have an explanation for the conditions of captivity denounced by the lawyer.
“I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be able to call family, have access to email, or access lawyers,” said Judge Kevin Castel, the same judge who presided over the trial that sent his brother Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández behind bars in United States for the rest of his days.
At the moment, JOH, as he is known in Honduraswill continue to stop. The defense later announced to the press that it is trying to find guarantees to present a “several million” bail so that the former president, who handed over command to his successor, the leftist Xiomara Castro, on January 27, can await the free trial.
JOH is accused of receiving “millions of dollars” from drug cartels, including the Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin “Chapo” Guzmanalso sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States and to create a “narco-state” during his presidency (2014-2022).
This same Tuesday the former head of the Honduran National Police was extradited Juan Carlos “El Tigre” Bonillaaccused of “supervising” JOH’s alleged drug trafficking operations.
Bonilla “allegedly abused his positions in the Honduran police to circumvent the law and play a key role in a violent international drug trafficking conspiracy,” Manhattan prosecutor Geoffrey Berman said at the time.
500 tons
According to the US prosecutor’s office, Hernández would have helped introduce 500 tons of cocaine into the United States between 2004 and 2022.
According to the indictment, the drug money served him to enrich himself and “finance his political campaign and commit electoral fraud” in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.
The defense hopes to have the testimony of people from successive US administrations, from Barack Obama Y donald trumpwith whom he collaborated to extradite other drug traffickers who are currently serving sentences in the United States.
The defendant, who came to boast of Washington’s praise for his government’s work in drug seizures and the fight against organized crime, could seek to reach an agreement with the prosecution to see his sentence reduced.
But US justice seems to be willing to send a strong message, as it did with his brother “Tony”, with his collaborator Geovanny Fuentes Ramírez sentenced to life imprisonment, and with Fabio Lobo, son of former Honduran president Porfirio Lobo (2010-2014 ), who is serving 24 years in prison for the same crime.
US authorities have warned that they are determined “to disrupt the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm Americans.”
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