Reuters article

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Rights Action
February 9, 2021
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Honduran president target of U.S. drug-trafficking criminal investigation
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* Below, Reuters article

“Somoza is our son of a bitch”
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt is reported to have said that "Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch", referring to the ruthless military-backed dictator of Nicaragua that the US government was propping up.


‘Juan Orlando Hernandez is our narco-trafficking son of a bitch’
One can imagine US and Canadian leaders saying: ‘Juan Orlando Hernandez is a narco-trafficking son of a bitch, but he is our narco-trafficking son of a bitch’, referring to the military-backed dictator of Honduras, illegally in power since (pretty much) the 2009 US and Canadian-backed coup.

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Honduran president target of U.S. investigation, court filings show
By Laura Gottesdiener ([link removed]) , Feb.8, 2021
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(Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are investigating Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, according to a new court filing, piling pressure on a leader who prosecutors have already accused in court of participation in the nation’s bloody narcotics trade.

In a court document filed Friday night in the Southern District of New York in the case of Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, an alleged Honduran drug-trafficker, federal prosecutors said Hernandez himself was the target of an investigation, along with other “high-ranking officials.”

The filing did not say what Hernandez, who has been president since 2014, is being investigated for. Last month, U.S. prosecutors said in a court filing related to the same case that Hernandez had by 2013 “accepted millions of dollars in drug-trafficking proceeds and, in exchange, promised drug traffickers protection from prosecutors, law enforcement, and (later) extradition to the United States.”

The Honduran government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hernandez has repeatedly denied any ties to drug cartels.

The Honduran president has been a key U.S. ally in the region and the investigation could complicate the Biden administration’s efforts to invest $4 billion in Central America, including in Honduras, to address the root causes of migration.

The prosecutors also said that assistance from the Honduran government in ongoing investigations “has hardly been forthcoming,” accusing the Honduran government of providing “limited records” and not honoring extradition requests for potential witnesses against the president.

Hernandez’s name has frequently appeared in the U.S. court filings against Fuentes Ramirez, as well as in a successful drug-trafficking case against the president’s brother, Tony Hernandez. Previous court filings also show that, around 2013, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating Hernandez and others for drug trafficking and money laundering.

Friday’s filing appeared to be the first confirmation from U.S. prosecutors that the Honduran president was currently under investigation by the United States.

(Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Dave Graham and Rosalba O’Brien)

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Background
US motions expand drug claims against Honduras president
By Claudia Torrens, AP News, January 9, 2021, [link removed]
US supports Honduran government that forces many to migrate as it protects drug trafficking
By Tim Steller, Tucson Star, Sep. 12, 2020, [link removed]
U.S. Justice Department Indicts Honduran Former National Police Chief on Cocaine Trafficking Charges
[link removed]
Key witness arrested in drug case against brother of Honduran president
By David Adams & Jeff Ernst, 14 Feb. 2020, [link removed]
Witness directly involves president of Honduras in use of drug money for campaigns
By Jeff Ernst, 8 Oct. 2019, [link removed]

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