Central America

President of Honduras helped smuggle tons of cocaine into US: prosecutor

AFP/Editor

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez helped smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States, a US prosecutor said today at the trial of an accused drug trafficker. That defendant, Geovanny Fuentes, bribed the president with $25,000 in cash and this made Fuentes “untouchable,” prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig said in opening arguments at the New York federal trial.

Fuentes paid the money to Hernandez in meetings in 2013 and 2014, the prosecutor said. Hernandez, who denies all the allegations against him, has been in power since January 2014.

Accountant Jose Sanchez, who was at those meetings, will tell the jury “the shock, the fear he felt when he saw the defendant sitting with the president,” said Gutwillig. Sanchez worked at a rice-growing company through which the defendant laundered money, the prosecutor alleged.

This witness will tell the jury that the president told Fuentes “that they’d transport so much cocaine into the US they’d shove the drugs up the noses of the gringos,” said Gutwillig.

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CEL

Defense attorney Eylan Schulman tried to discredit what the witness allegedly plans to tell the jury. The defense also told the jury that it should not believe the testimony to be given by “one of the most vicious murderers to ever walk on this Earth,” Leonel Rivera, former leader of the Honduran cartel Los Cachiros, who killed 78 people, tried to kill 15 others and is imprisoned in the United States for drug trafficking.

US prosecutors consider Hernandez to be a co-conspirator of Fuentes in smuggling tons of cocaine to the US but they have not charged him.

Central America

Panama grants Martinelli 72-hour extension to travel to Nicaragua

On Monday (March 31, 2025), Panama extended the safe-conduct pass for former President Ricardo Martinelli by three more days to allow him to travel to Nicaragua, after the Central American country refused to receive him due to concerns over an alleged Interpol arrest warrant.

“The National Government has decided to extend the validity of the safe-conduct pass for an additional seventy-two (72) hours, until the end of Thursday, April 3, 2025,” the Panamanian Foreign Ministry stated in a communiqué. The original permit was set to expire Monday at midnight (05:00 GMT on Tuesday).

The Foreign Ministry explained that regarding the ‘humanitarian asylum’ granted to Martinelli last Thursday, which was set to expire Monday at midnight, the Nicaraguan government requested clarifications about an apparent Interpol alert, which had already been dismissed as inadmissible.

Additionally, the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice, as the highest authority of the Judicial Branch, stated on Monday that it had “no objections” to granting asylum and a safe-conduct to Martinelli, as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.

Central America

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary urges Mexico to strengthen Guatemala border

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed on Monday that during last week’s meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, she urged Mexico to reinforce its border with Guatemala and share biometric datawith U.S. authorities.

“I gave her a list of things that President Trump would love to see. And it was exceptional. It was supposed to be a half-hour meeting, but we talked for nearly two hours. It was very productive,” Noem said in an interview with Fox News.

The Homeland Security Secretary requested that Sheinbaum, who has already deployed 10,000 National Guard troopsalong Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., also secure Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.

Noem added that she also asked the Mexican president to share biometric data with the U.S., to which Sheinbaum responded that she was “willing to discuss it,” although she acknowledged that it could be a controversial issue in her country.

Central America

Panama police clarifies that Interpol alert for Martinelli is still pending

Panama’s National Police clarified on Sunday that an Interpol alert request for former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) is still under review and has yet to be confirmed. Martinelli was granted a safe-conduct pass last Thursday to leave the Nicaraguan embassy, where he has been seeking asylum since February 2024 after being convicted of corruption.

“The National Police clarifies that there is currently an active process for an Interpol alert, requested by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, against former President Ricardo Martinelli. This request must be analyzed by Interpol’s General Secretariat (headquartered in France) for approval or rejection. If approved, it will be notified to member countries,” the police stated in a press release sent to EFE.

According to the statement, “at the moment, it remains an ongoing procedure, and former President Martinelli does not have a confirmed alert.”

The announcement came hours after National Police Director Jaime Fernández had told the press that an “Interpol alert” for Martinelli had been received on Friday.