On Tuesday, former Honduran police director Juan Carlos Bonilla was extradited to the United States, where he is accused of overseeing drug trafficking activities on behalf of ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hernandez, 53, was extradited to the United States this month on drug trafficking accusations, less than three months after stepping down from the presidency after eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An AFP journalist on the scene observed a US Drug Enforcement Agency plane take off from a military facility in Tegucigalpa with a handcuffed Bonilla aboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bonilla, 61, was named in the prosecution of Hernandez’s ex-congressman brother Tony, who was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an April 2020 statement, then-federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman stated Bonilla “apparently exploited his positions in Honduran law enforcement to violate the law and play a crucial part in a murderous international drug trafficking scheme.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also “oversaw the transshipment of multi-ton cargoes of cocaine intended for the United States, using machine guns and other weaponry to do that, and participated in severe violence, including the death of a rival trafficker, to further the conspiracy” in the name of the Hernandez brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If convicted, Bonilla, also known as “The Tiger,” may spend the rest of his life in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2012 to 2013, he was the police chief, just at the start of Hernandez’s term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was arrested in March, and his extradition was approved by the Supreme Court a month later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bonilla had agreed to be extradited to “shorten the process,” according to Security Minister Ramon Sabillon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bonilla said in an open letter a few days ago that he had been targeted “unfairly” by “unknown entities acting outside the law” to accuse him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stated that he will fly to America “with his head held high” and a “clean conscience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hernandez has denied any role in drug trafficking and was scheduled to appear in court later Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to US prosecutors, the previous president converted Honduras into a “narco-state” by indulging in drug trafficking with the military, police, and citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to US prosecutors, some drug traffickers have admitted to paying bribes to Hernandez’s inner circle. By the time he left office, DEA agents were ready to go after him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His family alleges he is a “victim of drug traffickers’ retribution for extraditing or forcing him to flee to the United States.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Tuesday, former Honduran police director Juan Carlos Bonilla was extradited to the United States,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[645],"class_list":["post-15866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-honduran-police-commander"],"yoast_head":"\n