Judge: Former Honduran President To Remain in Custody

The Extradition Judge of First Instance of the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras issued this Wednesday the provisional detention to the former president of the country, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is requested by the justice of the United States (USA) for allegedly incurring in the crimes of drug trafficking and use of weapons.

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 Ex-President Hernandez To Appear Before Honduran Supreme Court

The Supreme Court details that the hearing of presentation and evacuation of evidence in the case of Hernandez will be next March 16 at 09H00 (local time), "the detention will be held at the COBRA Special Operations Command," they say.

Juan Orlando Hernández attended Tuesday the Court hearing under heavy security measures; the former president arrived with a bulletproof vest and handcuffed hands and feet.

Magistrate Edwin Ortez, who was appointed by the Court to carry out the extradition process of Hernandez, will decide during the hearings if the former president will continue to be detained at the National Directorate of Special Forces or if he will be sent to the First Infantry Battalion to serve preventive detention.

For its part, the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa accuses Hernández of participating in an alleged conspiracy to import controlled substances into that country, such as 500,000 kilograms of cocaine since 2004.

At the same time, the Embassy asserts that the former Honduran president must answer for the alleged crimes of manufacture, distribution and possession of a controlled substance on board a U.S. registered aircraft and for the use or carrying of firearms and aiding and abetting the use, power and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.