Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice has issued an indictment alleging that Hernandez was involved in a conspiracy to protect and profit from cocaine smugglers from Central and South America to the United States.
An indictment in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York charges Hernandez with conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destroyers, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destroyers.
“As accused in the indictment, Hernandez abused his position as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022 to run the country as a drug state,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference Thursday.
The Honduran government has said Hernandez, who denied the allegations against him, was flown to New York.
He was taken away by a special police prison at Tegucigalpa Air Force Base for the flight. Hernandez in handcuffs, wearing a blue jacket and jeans, was escorted by more than a dozen police officers, as seen on local television.
Hernandez was put on a plane of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which took off from Toncontin International Airport at around 16:20 local time, Honduran authorities said.
Hernandez’s wife, Anna Garcia, posted a video of the former president on her Twitter account.
“Truth is a liberating force when it is revealed, it is my prayer to my family and to the thousands of families in Honduras, so the truth is revealed and prevails in my case. “I am innocent, I have been and I have been treated unfairly by a trial,” he said.
“You know that we worked tirelessly to restore peace in Honduras. We did our best for our nation and it is a pity that those who made Honduras one of the most violent countries on Earth, these villains, now want to be heroes.” Hernandez said in the video, whose recording date is unknown.
The Honduran Supreme Court allowed extradition last month.
Hernandez left office in January after eight years as president.
The former leader was arrested at his home on February 15 at the request of the US government. About a month earlier, federal prosecutors claimed that Hernandez had helped an alleged drug trafficker deliver thousands of pounds of cocaine to the United States in exchange for hefty bribes. His administration dismissed the charge.
Hernandez’s brother, Tony Hernandez, is currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison for drug trafficking.
According to court documents in this case, the US authorities believe that Hernandez was an accomplice in the operation, directing money from drugs to help finance his presidential campaigns. Hernandez has repeatedly denied these allegations.
Hernandez is accused of partnering with some of the most violent drug trafficking groups, earning millions of dollars from a network that smuggles cocaine through Honduras and the United States. He used the money, the indictment said, to enrich himself, finance his political rise and stay in power.
In return, Hernandez provided trafficking information to law enforcement, which helped protect leaders from criminal investigations, protected leaders from extradition to the United States and allowed them to commit violence with virtually no consequences, US officials said.
Garland said the Justice Department’s long-running investigation into drug trafficking organizations had led to “the conviction of many Honduran drug traffickers responsible for importing more than 500,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States and dozens of foreign homicides.”
“If you think you can hide behind the strength of your position, you’re wrong,” DEA Administrator Ann Milgram told a news conference.
CNN’s Stefano Posebon, Sahar Akbarzai, Valentina Di Donato and Harmiet Kaur contributed to this report. Alvin Sandoval reported from Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Add Comment