TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) 鈥� After years of speculation in Honduras, the United States formally requested the arrest and extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez less than three weeks after he left office.
Honduran security forces surrounded Hern谩ndez鈥檚 neighborhood Monday night and the Supreme Court of Justice scheduled an urgent meeting Tuesday morning to select a judge to handle the extradition request. A standoff ensued.
In a video released by Hern谩ndez鈥檚 legal team from apparently inside his home, attorney F茅lix 脕vila said that everything would have to wait until the Supreme Court designated a judge Tuesday to consider the case. 鈥淢eanwhile, it is understood that no arrest order exists.鈥�
However, at a police barrier to the neighborhood, Rasel Tom茅, vice president of the newly elected National Congress, said that Hern谩ndez had to turn himself in or he would be captured at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
It was a long-awaited fall for a leader reviled in his home country, who enjoyed support from the Trump administration, but had been kept at arm鈥檚 length by a Biden White House targeting Central America鈥檚 endemic corruption as a root cause of migration.
The specific charges Hern谩ndez鈥檚 faces are not known, but federal prosecutors in New York had previously named him a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking case, alleging that his political rise was fueled with drug profits. Hern谩ndez has long denied any wrongdoing.
Nicole Navas, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice, declined to comment.
Hern谩ndez left office Jan. 27 with the swearing in of President Xiomara Castro. The same day he was sworn in as Honduras鈥� representative to the Central American Parliament.
His lawyer, Hermes Ram铆rez, told local media his client had immunity as a member of the regional parliament and said government forces were not following proper procedures. He said Hern谩ndez was inside the home.
Various contingents of the National Police, including special forces, as well as military police were present around Hern谩ndez鈥檚 neighborhood Monday night. Barriers at all of the entrances kept out media and even residents.
Members of the security forces entered the area with weapons, wearing balaclavas and with handcuffs dangling from their ballistic vests. Some neighbors said the house had been dark and they believe unoccupied.
Hern谩ndez often pointed to the fact that Honduras began allowing the extradition of Hondurans on drug trafficking charges while he was president of the congress as part of his defense.
But U.S. prosecutors have alleged that he was taking bribes from drug traffickers on the promise of protecting them once he was Honduras鈥� president.
U.S. prosecutors in New York repeatedly implicated him in his brother鈥檚 2019 drug trafficking trial, alleging that his political rise was fueled by drug profits.
That brother, Juan Antonio 鈥淭ony鈥� Hern谩ndez, himself a former Honduran congressman, was sentenced to life in prison on drug and weapons charges in March 2021. At his sentencing Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Laroche characterized the crimes as 鈥渟tate-sponsored drug trafficking.鈥�
Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez took office Jan. 27, 2014. Hern谩ndez used a friendly Supreme Court to overcome Honduras鈥� constitutional ban on reelection and won a second term in 2017 in elections marred by irregularities.
Around midnight Monday, 56-year-old Jorge Arturo Vega, a supporter of Castro鈥檚 Liberty and Refoundation party, stood outside a police barricade at Hern谩ndez鈥檚 neighborhood celebrating.
鈥淭his is a party we鈥檝e been waiting a long time for,鈥� Vega said, thinking back over the dozen years since Hern谩ndez came up in the congress. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 stand this his drug trafficker, criminal, killer in the presidential house any longer.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Marlon Gonz谩lez reported this story in Tegucigalpa and AP writer Christopher Sherman reported from Mexico City. AP videojournalist Elmer Mart铆nez in Tegucigalpa and AP writer Claudia Torrens in New York contributed to this story.
Marlon Gonz谩lez And Christopher Sherman, The Associated Press
