US requests arrest and extradition of former Honduras president

The United States this week formally requested the arrest and extradition of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández over reported drug trafficking charges, according to multiple reports.

Years of court filings in the U.S. have alleged that Hernández and other high-ranking Honduran political officials were trafficking drugs into the United States with the help of state resources, The Washington Post noted. A case was also built against Hernández’s brother, Tony Hernández, who last year was sentenced to life in prison due to trafficking charges, the newspaper added.

On Monday night, Juan Orlando Hernández’s neighborhood was surrounded by security officials and the Supreme Court of Justice planned a meeting for Tuesday to decide on a judge to carry out the extradition request, The Associated Press reported.

Hernández’s attorney, Félix Ávila, reportedly said that the former president would wait until a judge is selected by the Supreme Court before making any moves, resulting in a standoff.

“Meanwhile, it is understood that no arrest order exists,” he said in a video filmed inside Hernández’s home and later released by his legal team, according to the AP.

Hernández was previously named by New York had as a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking case and has since denied those allegations, the news service noted.

Earlier this month, the State Department announced that Hernández had been banned from entering the United States, citing “multiple, credible media reports” that claimed Hernández was involved “in significant corruption by committing or facilitating acts of corruption and narco-trafficking, and using the proceeds of illicit activity to facilitate political campaigns,” the Post reported.

Hernández, who was unseated by Xiomara Castro last month, had served as president of Honduras since 2014.