Former President Juan Orlando Hernández should be extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking and weapons charges, a Honduran judge ruled Wednesday. The country's Supreme Court of Justice said late Wednesday via Twitter that the judge had decided to grant the U.S. extradition request. U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have accused Hernández in recent years of funding his political rise with profits from drug traffickers in exchange for protecting their shipments. He has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Before the decision was announced, court spokesman Melvin Duarte said that during a hearing earlier in the day, Hernández addressed the court. "In general terms he argued about the motives that have led to this extradition process against him, which he and his wife have said publicly," Duarte said. Hernández has maintained that statements against him have been made by drug traffickers extradited by his government who wanted to seek revenge against him. He denies having any ties to drug traffickers. He will have an opportunity to appeal the extradition decision. "We still have an appeal that must be examined," said Iván Martínez, one of Hernández's lawyers. "We have three days to analyze the decision taken today and make our case in line with law." During the hearing, the judge presented a document sent by the U.S. Justice Department through the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa that laid out the charges against Hernández. Hernández's lawyers also presented at least 20 pieces of evidence in his defense.
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