Central America

The never-ending War on Drugs claimed another casualty last week as the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, was arrested at his home and is now facing extradition to the United States. His brother Tony has already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for smuggling more than 185 tons of cocaine into the United States. This new development came just days after prosecutors in the Southern District of New York issued an arrest and extradition request for the ex-leader on charges of drug trafficking. The prosecutors allege that for the past 18 years, Hernández, “participated in a violent drug-trafficking conspiracy” to ship hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S. via Honduras and received “millions of dollars in bribes and proceeds” in return. This all came to light in recent years with witnesses in federal courtrooms pointing the finger at the ex-President. One witness quoted Hernández bragging he was, “going to stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses, and they’re never even going to know it.”. He has vowed to clear his name of all charges.

What makes this particular case so intriguing is that Juan Orlando Hernández has been lauded as a staunch U.S. ally and an enemy of drugs for the past two U.S. presidential administrations. In 2017, then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden praised Hernández for his progress in improving security, fighting corruption, and preserving the rule of law in Honduras. Years later President Trump was quoted as saying, “…President Hernández is working with the U.S. very closely.” and, “We’re stopping drugs at a level that has never happened.”. The political theatre did not only reach into Honduras foreign relations but also extended into Hernández’s domestic policies. The alleged talked tough on drugs in public speeches throughout his presidency. Likewise, publicly he supported a constitutional amendment to authorize the extradition of drug traffickers. While privately, he was promising to protect his drug trafficking allies in return for bribes and support. U.S. prosecutors claim that Hernández received millions in bribes to go toward his election campaigns. In return he protected high level cartel bosses within the Sinaloa drug cartel, including Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

How could such a major player in the drug trafficking world not only get overlooked but praised as a friend and ally? Juan Orlando Hernández was able to play the game through his position of power and political maneuvering. Both the Biden and Trump administrations saw his cooperation on reducing the flow of migrants from Honduras to the U.S. as a top priority. By working together with the Honduras President on this issue both U.S. Presidents were able to score domestic political points with the U.S. population. Other issues, like drug trafficking, took a backseat to the hot political issue of illegal immigration on the southern border of the U.S.

Additionally, arresting and extraditing a sitting Central American President is a bit more complicated than a disgraced former President. Hernández just recently lost his re-election campaign as he fell out of favor with the local populace. Many citizens accused Hernández of corruption and misrule and voted to replace him in November. This provided the U.S. federal courts the opening to sweep in and apprehend the ex-President. To make things worse, hundreds of Hondurans rushed to celebrate his downfall and chant “…you’re going to New York.” as he was taken into custody. Many of the revelers see the extradition to the U.S. as a way for Hernández to finally face justice.

Those citizens voted in the first female President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, a leftwing politician to replace Hernández. Castro has the support of the U.S. and the Biden administration. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attended her inauguration and reiterated the plan to keep warm relations with Honduras. Meanwhile, Honduras’s new Vice President Salvador Nasralla openly called their country a narco state and acknowledge that drug traffickers are, “…are in the institutional structures of the country, in the ministries, in Congress, in the supreme court.”. This type of self-awareness bodes well for Castro’s government as it now faces the challenges and tribulations of tackling the drug problem in Honduras.

Stott, Michael, and Christine Murray. “Ex-Honduras President’s Arrest Puts US War on Drugs into Focus.” Financial Times. Financial Times, February 18, 2022. https://www.ft.com/content/af3d85a8-c10a-46da-a217-328c80e74116.

Khalidi, Aliza Kassim, Karol Suarez, and Fernando Del Rincón. “Ex-Honduras President Agrees to Extradition to the US.” CNN. Cable News Network, February 15, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/americas/honduras-hernandez-president-extradition-us-intl/index.html.

Suazo, Joan, and Maria Abi-habib. “U.S. Requests Extradition of Former Honduran President.” The New York Times. The New York Times, February 15, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/world/americas/honduras-president-extradition.html.