Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández hopes that a judicial “second instance” in the United States can review the case of his brother, a former congressman who has been found guilty of drug trafficking by a New York court.
In an interview with AFP on Friday, the president said he is confident that the judges will see that the charges against Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández are responding to a retaliation by heads of the United States. drug cartels that his government was being dismantled.
“Tony” was found guilty by a jury in the Southern District Court of New York on charges of drug trafficking and possession of weapons, crimes that the judge can punish with at least 40 years in prison.
He is also involved in the reprisals, the president says, as imprisoned drug traffickers claim they financially supported his presidential campaign in exchange for allowing them to operate.
Lawyer Hernández, in power since 2014, recalls that his government has extradited 23 capos. And that it was he who asked for support from the United States, which in turn acknowledges Honduras’ fall in drug trafficking by 83%.
From the José Cecilio del Valle Palace, the government building, he also confirms that on January 27, 2022, when his second term in office ends, he will “retire from public life” to write his memoirs.
JOH, as he is known by his initials in his country, handles security issues, drug trafficking and diplomacy.
Q: Have the cartels disappeared in Honduras or do the people extradited have relief?
R: The main drug cartels that have been harming the country for nearly two decades or more are in confusion. But this is like grass, which also sprouts (…) That is one of the great challenges we have.
Q: Are you sure that drug funds have not been included in your campaign, as stated by US prosecutors?
R: We were very emphatic that we didn’t want a relationship with any kind of money that even seemed, let alone illegal [En 2015 admitió que empresas vinculadas a un desfalco en el seguro social financiaron su campaña, ndlr].
In the second campaign, I was the promoter of a law about raising money for the campaign [Ley de Financiamiento, Transparencia y Fiscalización de los Partidos Políticos y Candidatos].
Most importantly, there is a policy that is perfected every day, to prevent bad money (coming in) and then (the donors) trying to collect the bill.
Q: The New York prosecutor’s office believes the opposite and has testimonials from drug traffickers accusing it of receiving money to favor them … what do you think?
R: The birds shoot the shotguns. Famous killers, one in 78 murders, people who raped girls (…)
They want their sentences reduced, their belongings returned or something left to their family, in addition (it is) out of revenge. We have imprisoned many of them and handed them over there (to the United States) or they are in prisons in Honduras and others have surrendered because of the pressure we put on them.
We knew there would be consequences, but we are not going to rest until the last day of government in a struggle that means peace in Honduras.
Question: Your brother has been found guilty in the United States for ties to these bosses …
R: There are two dimensions: the dimension of brother, of relative, seeing my mother, seeing my cousins (Tony’s children), my brothers, and talking within the family is a strong thing, it is something that hits very hard.
But I am also the president of a country and … no one is above the law.
When I hear famous killers say ridiculously, the desire for revenge is clearly seen.
Question: But they found him guilty [espera sentencia para marzo] What do you think will happen with this decision?
R: It will be necessary to see how the testimonies of these people are preserved once the judge realizes who they are … Like any legal process, it always has a second instance.
Question: What relationship do you expect to have with the US President, Joe Biden, especially on immigration issues? [Cuando desde 2018 se organizan desde Honduras masivas caravanas con personas que buscan mejores condiciones de vida en Estados Unidos, ndlr]
R: We had the opportunity to work together (…) to build the Alliance for the Prosperity of the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras El Salvador), a public policy to address the root of the migration problem that time was uncertainty, the lack of opportunities (…)
I hope Biden shares these common responsibilities with us. I’m sure Washington leadership understands that the best investment for the United States and Central America is to build wealth here, so we all win.