Ex-Honduran president appears in US court on drugs charges

AFP

Ex-Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez made his first appearance before a US judge Friday following his extradition to America to face drug trafficking charges.

The 53-year-old appeared in a New York federal court via video-link after he was brought to the United States on Thursday.

Hernandez is accused of aiding the smuggling of hundreds of tons of cocaine to America in return for millions of dollars in bribes from drug-traffickers.

Hernandez was not required to enter a plea during the short hearing. His lawyers did not make a request for bail but said they would at a later date.

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Judge Stewart Aaron set a date of May 10 for Hernandez’s arraignment, when the former leader will be expected to say whether he will challenge the charges.

Hernandez, whose 2014 to 2022 stint as president was plagued by allegations of corruption, risks spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

He is accused of having facilitated the smuggling of some 500 tons of cocaine — mainly from Colombia and Venezuela — to America via Honduras since 2004, starting long before his presidency.

In turn, he received “millions of dollars in bribes… from multiple narcotrafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico and other places,” US prosecutors allege.

Hernandez has been charged with three counts of drug and weapons offenses.

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Not even three weeks after leaving office following elections, a warrant was issued for his arrest at Washington’s request, and he surrendered to police on February 15.

He was then held at a police special forces prison in the capital Tegucigalpa before he was taken to the US on a Drug Enforcement Administration plane.

Hernandez portrayed himself as an ally of the US war on drugs during his tenure, helping to extradite several narcotics kingpins.

Washington even supported his re-election in 2017 despite a constitutional one-term limit and accusations of voting fraud.

But several drug traffickers since told US prosecutors they had paid bribes to the president’s inner circle, and by the time he left office, US drug enforcers were ready to move against Hernandez.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.