A judge in New York on Friday ordered former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to be detained on charges of drug and arms trafficking. The next hearing was scheduled today for May 10 at 11 a.m.
In a brief court appearance, Hernandez responded a couple of times to Judge Stewart Aaron of the Southern District Court of New York, who asked him if he was okay with proceeding virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic protocols. The fact is that the accused, assisted by an interpreter, did not go to court, but connected by videoconference from the prison.
Attorney Aaron read him his rights - not to be incriminated with his statements, to have a legal aid lawyer or of his choice, to have consular assistance, among others - but did not ask him in this first examination session whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.
Prosecutors asked that Hernandez remain in detention, something that the former president's lawyer, Raymond Colón, did not object to. He said, however, that he later reserved the right to request bail.
“At least for now we consent to a permanent detention order, reserving the right to file a bail application later in the process,” said Colón, a lawyer with offices in Bronx County.
Some Honduran citizens had entered the courtroom to see their former president on the television circuit, while a louder group of them gathered in the courtroom shouting at him, calling him a drug dealer and demanding that he be punished with three life sentences.
The appearance, which occurred after the former president was extradited on Thursday, still surprises many because Hernandez was president of Honduras so long ago only three months and that it was once considered by the United States authorities as a key ally in the war against drug trafficking.
On Thursday in Honduras, Hernandez boarded a plane en route to New York escorted by agents of the US anti-drug agency, better known as DEA. Prosecutor Elinor Tarlow said Hernandez arrived in New York on Friday just before one o'clock in the morning.
US authorities said Thursday that between approximately 2004 and 2022 Hernandez participated in a “violent” conspiracy to allow drug cartels to send thousands of kilos of cocaine to the United States in exchange for millions of dollars.
At a press conference in Washington, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Hernandez “abused” his position as president to lead Honduras as “a narco-state” and that he received bribes from multiple cartels, including, when he was a congressman, from the Sinaloa Cartel, once operated by Joaquin.” El Chapo” Guzman.
“Because of these alleged crimes, communities in the United States suffered and the people of Honduras suffered,” Garland said.
The United States authorities released documents on Thursday accusing Hernandez on three counts: conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, use weapons and conspire to use destructive weapons and tools.
(With information from AP and EFE)
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