Washington, EE.UU.
The Secretary of State of Honduras, Lysandro morals, defended this Friday in Washington in an interview with Efe that his government is a reliable partner EE.UU. for his corruption management, despite allegations linking the president, Juan Orlando Hernández, to drug trafficking.
Rosales, who is visiting the US capital to open bilateral dialogue tables with Washington, said this journey is a continuation of the “historic relationship” that both countries have maintained.
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The Secretary of State arrives in the US after a New York court in late March sentenced Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández, the brother of the President of Honduras, to more than 30 years in prison for drug trafficking, in a ruling that he emphasized that the convict’s criminal activities were sponsored by the Central American nation-state itself.
Question: How has the president’s brother’s recent conviction affected relations with the US? Has this put you at a disadvantage to Joe Biden’s government?
Interviewee: It does not put us at a disadvantage, because the facts speak for themselves. Over the past 10 years, we have reduced drug trafficking in Honduras by 95%. Before that, in 2011, 87% of the drug passed through Honduras and I’m not saying that, says INL (Anti-Narcotics Affairs and Law Enforcement Section), an agency of the State Department.
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Traces recorded in 2009 showed that 87% of planes carrying drugs passed through Honduras; the traces presented to us by the Southern Command (of the US armed forces) last year indicated that there was little or no aircraft activity on Honduran territory.
It is curious that when trials take place in New York and it is accused that there is no cooperation in Honduras, that there is no work done in Honduras … at that point 1.6 tons of cocaine is stolen by the armed forces. moment Honduran security agents accompanied by DEA agents.
So it is a disconnection from reality. What is happening? In these cases, the main witnesses are known killers who confessed to 78 deaths in Honduras, who were or had to flee the country because of the strict laws that were enacted against drug trafficking and that the only way to lower their sentences has come to lie in court in The United States.
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So it is a task we will continue to do, President Hernández has made it clear that ‘my fight against organized crime and drug trafficking will last until my last day in office’ even though he has already made four attempts to attack his life. , it must be worth it.
We must also appreciate the struggle waged by the organizations in Honduras, as the National Police, the armed forces and the prosecution have taken strong action and will continue to act vigorously against drug trafficking.
Question and answer
Q: Do you believe that President Juan Orlando Hernández can be a valid interlocutor with the United States?
E: You have been a reliable partner, you have been a person who has shown the United States that things have been done willingly, and you have been a person who has shown character and determination to work the way you want to. the right way.
Question: How does President Hernández view his relationship with the United States after the allegations?
E: That’s exactly why we are here to continue that historic relationship we have with the US. Consider the geostrategic importance of Honduras. For us, maintaining a Honduras, a Honduras free from organized crime, is a condemnation of President Hernández and will last until his last day of reign, January 27, 2022.
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Question: This episode recalls someone who lived in Colombia when former President Ernesto Samper was accused of contributing money from the drug trade to his campaign. At that time, the US withdrew its visa
Q. Has the United States Government notified you of such retaliation against President Hernández?
E: The President has not been notified of any action in this regard, the President is currently focusing on national reconstruction, he is focusing on continuing this fight I call against organized crime.
There is no official report from the US that action is being taken in this regard.
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Q. What issues will you discuss during your visit to the US government?
E: It is to install the worktables that we were programming (…) They have just been inaugurated with the presence of the Northern Triangle Special Envoy Ricardo Zúñiga this morning and we are already working on them. .
The five tables are migration as it is, national reconstruction, hemispheric security, transparency and human rights.