Narayan AmmachchiHonduras former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who stepped down earlier in January this year after six years of rule, has been arrested and is facing the prospect of being extradited to the United States on drug trafficking charges.
Police in Tegucigalpa detained him on Wednesday following the US request for his extradition.
Juan’s brother Tony Hernández has already been sentenced to life in prison in the United States. The former president is accused of having been involved in the drug trafficking ring led by his brother.
Tony allegedly received USD $1 million from Mexico’s notorious drug lord El Chapo. The bribe was in fact meant for Juan Hernandez, who was then the President of Honduras.
The Central American country has long been ravaged by deadly gangs that fight among themselves to retain control of drug trafficking.
The former president was reportedly involved in a scheme designed to ship cocaine to the United States from Colombia and Venezuela.
The news comes barely a week after the United States banned him from entering its territory.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said in a statement that the US found “credible” evidence to prove that the former Honduran president had “engaged in significant corruption by committing or facilitating acts of corruption and narco-trafficking, and using the proceeds of illicit activity to facilitate political campaigns”.
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