Central America
Honduran judge grants extradition of ex-president Hernandez to US
AFP
A judge in Honduras granted the extradition of former president Juan Orlando Hernandez to the United States, where he is wanted for alleged drug trafficking, the Central American country’s Supreme Court of Justice said on Twitter.
A judge “decided to accept the request for extradition presented by the Court of the Southern District of New York against ex-president of the republic Juan Orlando Hernandez Alvarado,” the court said Wednesday.
The decision can still be appealed within three days of its writing, judiciary spokesman Melvin Duarte said, in which case the Supreme Court’s panel of justices would weigh in.
The former president, who held office from 2014 to 2022, is accused of having facilitated the smuggling of some 500 tons of drugs — mainly from Colombia and Venezuela — to the United States via Honduras since 2004.
US prosecutors have alleged Hernandez, 53, received millions of dollars from drug traffickers for protection — including from Mexican narco-kingpin Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman.
He faces three charges: conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the United States, using or carrying firearms including machine guns, and conspiracy to use or carry firearms.
New York prosecutors linked the former president to the crimes during the trial of his brother, former Honduran congressman Tony Hernandez, who in March 2021 was sentenced to life in prison in the United States for drug trafficking.
Hernandez’s lawyers claimed the “United States has not sent any sufficient and irrefutable evidence” linking the former president to drug-trafficking.
But Duarte said that only a “minimal burden of proof” was required to approve extradition requests
Hernandez, a right-wing lawyer, departed office on January 26 when leftist Xiomara Castro became president.
Before his eight-year presidency, Hernandez had led the country’s Congress, taking a pro-US stance and supporting Washington’s fight against drug trafficking.
“Today is a very sad day for our family… I repeat to the whole world and all of Honduras, my husband is innocent, he is a victim of a conspiracy and the vengeance of drug-traffickers who were once extradited from this country,” said Hernandez’s wife Ana Garcia.
She said those drug-traffickers were striking plea bargains by implicating Hernandez.
Controversy has never been far away from Hernandez since he entered politics.
Re-election is banned by the Honduran constitution, but Hernandez was allowed to stand for a second consecutive time in 2017 following a ruling by the Supreme Court.
His subsequent victory, after initially trailing opponent Salvador Nasralla by five percentage points with more than half of the votes counted, sparked accusations of fraud.
He has been held in custody since surrendering to police on February 15, a day after Washington requested his extradition.
Wearing a smart suit, Hernandez arrived at court surrounded by a contingent of special forces police, who also accompanied him back to prison after his hearing.
Central America
Mulino Vows Tougher Crackdown as Homicides Increase in Panama
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday that his administration will not negotiate with gangs in an attempt to curb the wave of violence that has recently shaken the country and fueled growing public concern over insecurity.
“I am not going to sit down, nor is the security minister going to sit down with the leader of any gang to negotiate,” Mulino stated while rejecting any possibility of dialogue with criminal organizations.
According to statistics from the Public Ministry of Panama, the country recorded 62 homicides in April, nearly double the 34 reported during the same month last year. In March, authorities registered 53 killings, representing a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Panamanian authorities say the country’s two main gangs, among more than 180 criminal organizations identified nationwide, are behind the recent escalation in violence.
The National Police of Panama stated that disputes over territorial control, recruitment of new members, and drug theft between rival gangs are driving the increase in murders and armed attacks.
Mulino also expressed concern about innocent civilians becoming victims of the violence.
“They are in restaurants, they are in schools, and they become victims of these shootings,” the president said.
The Panamanian leader further called for tougher judicial measures against gang leaders and drug trafficking operators, criticizing court decisions that grant house arrest to suspects linked to contract killings and organized crime.
“We are going to act as we must to defend the overwhelming majority of Panamanian citizens, who are not criminals and are not drug traffickers,” Mulino stated.
Authorities believe that rising cocaine production in South America and Panama’s role as a transit route for drugs destined for the United States and Europe continue to strengthen gangs involved in narcotics trafficking.
Central America
Arévalo Announces Overhaul of Guatemala’s Prison System Amid Security Crisis
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said Thursday that his administration is working on a major transformation of the country’s prison system in an effort to end what he described as a “feast of corruption” inside Guatemala’s jails.
Speaking during an official ceremony in which Guatemala received 20 new inmate transport vehicles with support from the United States and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Arévalo stressed that prisons must no longer remain under the control of criminal organizations.
“Prisons should not be places where crime is perfected, but places where rehabilitation becomes possible,” the president said during his speech.
Arévalo explained that the addition of the new vehicles will strengthen security, surveillance, and operational control within the penitentiary system, which is considered one of the most overcrowded in the region.
Guatemala’s prisons currently hold more than 25,000 inmates in facilities originally designed for approximately 7,000 people, representing overcrowding levels exceeding 300%. Authorities acknowledge that these conditions have enabled gangs and criminal groups to coordinate extortion schemes, murders, and other crimes from inside prison facilities.
The crisis reached one of its most critical moments in January, when government attempts to regain control of several prisons triggered riots in three detention centers across the country.
Following the operations, members of the Barrio 18 gang allegedly carried out armed attacks in different areas of the country, leaving 11 officers from Guatemala’s National Civil Police dead.
Central America
Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory
A container originating from El Salvador and carrying coffee for export was contaminated with more than 1,152 packages of drugs while in transit through Panama, according to official information confirmed by the Panamanian government this Tuesday.
The case, which had previously generated political controversy in April 2025 after opposition sectors attempted to link the Salvadoran government to drug trafficking, has now been clarified through renewed investigations.
Authorities confirmed that the container departed from the port of Acajutla after being properly inspected, with no illicit substances detected at the time of export.
According to statements previously provided by El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino Monroy, the shipment traveled first to the port of Balboa in Panama, where it remained stored for several days before being transferred to another vessel bound for Manzanillo in Colón.
It was at that terminal that Panamanian authorities discovered the drugs and identified tampering with the container seals, indicating that the illicit alteration occurred during its transit in Panama rather than in Salvadoran territory.
The findings align with earlier explanations provided by Salvadoran officials and confirm that the contamination of the cargo took place outside of El Salvador’s jurisdiction.
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