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
Guatemala Court Voids List of Candidates for Top Prosecutor Position
Constitutional Court of Guatemala on Thursday annulled the shortlist of six candidates for attorney general and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ordering authorities to repeat the evaluation phase of the selection process.
The ruling came in response to a legal appeal filed by Raúl Amílcar Falla Ovalle, who challenged the way professional experience had been assessed for some applicants, particularly those with careers in the judiciary.
As a result of the decision, the selection process has been suspended, and the Postulation Commission must return to the stage in which the original 48 applicants were evaluated.
According to the ruling, the commission must reapply the grading criteria without automatically counting years served as judges as equivalent to the professional experience required for the position.
“The Postulation Commission for the election of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is ordered to reassess the applicants by strictly applying the approved grading table,” the resolution states.
The Constitutional Court also stressed that the process must guarantee merit, competence, and suitability, while ensuring greater transparency in the assignment of scores.
Central America
U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme
The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.
Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.
The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.
According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.
Central America
Bukele administration surpasses 1,100 homicide-free days amid ongoing crackdown
On Saturday, April 18, the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) reported that no homicides were recorded in El Salvador, bringing the total to 17 days without murders.
With this update, the country has accumulated 91 homicide-free days so far in 2026. January closed with 27 such days, followed by 24 in February and 23 in March, according to police data.
During the administration of President Nayib Bukele, a total of 1,193 days without homicides have been registered. Of those, 1,079 have occurred since the implementation of the state of exception.
This extraordinary security measure has been extended 49 times by the Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador, with the latest extension in effect from April 1 to April 30, 2026. Under the measure, more than 91,700 gang members and collaborators have been detained and prosecuted for illicit association.
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