Honduras Reveals List of Right-Wing Politicians Investigated for Drug Trafficking
Honduran Defense Minister Rixi Moncada (C), 2024. Photo: X/ @diario504hn
September 4, 2024 Hour: 8:05 am
Trials initiated in the U.S. are selective due to the activities of corrupt networks, Defense Ministry said.
On Tuesday, Honduran Security Minister Gustavo Sanchez and Defense Minister Rixi Moncada revealed a list of opposition politicians who are under investigation for drug trafficking.
RELATED:
Honduras Dennounce the Coup Plan in Progress
This information was made public during a press conference led by President Xiomara Castro, who denounced that plans for a coup against her are still being carried out. Sanchez and Moncada indicated that 33 opposition politicians have been convicted or are under investigation in the United States for drug trafficking-related crimes.
The Security Minister mentioned 26 cases involving members of the National Party, including former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison “for turning Honduras into a narco-state,” and his brother Juan Antonio Hernandez, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking. Another notorious case involves Porfirio Lobo Sosa, who received money from the Los Cachiros cartel and Alexander Ardón for his 2009 presidential campaign.
The Defense Minister detailed that there are seven ongoing drug trafficking investigations in U.S. courts related to the Liberal Party. One of these investigations involves Mauricio Villeda, the former presidential candidate of the Liberal Party and current member of the National Congress.
In the trial against former President Hernandez, Villeda was mentioned as having received around US$250,000 from the Los Cachiros cartel in exchange for helping Carlos “El Negro” Lobo recover assets that had been seized.
“The entire state security system was dismantled. They used our territory as a bridge to introduce cocaine into the United States, turning it into a paradise for drug traffickers. This happened during the 12 years and seven months of the narco-dictatorship. Radars were disabled. The drug trafficking route, which uses our seas and airspace, is controlled from Key West in the United States,” the Security Minister said.
“They reformed the law protecting the sovereignty of the airspace, obstructing the possibility of shooting down planes trafficking drugs. As has been demonstrated on multiple occasions, trials initiated in the U.S. are selective due to the activities of corrupt networks involving police, military personnel, prosecutors, judges, magistrates, and law firms,” Moncada pointed out.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – El Heraldo
