Juan Orlando Hernández on His U.S. Narco Indictment

TL;DR

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández claims his U.S. indictment landed on the exact day Kamala Harris met Honduras' new president Xiomara Castro, arguing it proves political coordination against him. He alleges Honduras' leftist leadership had ties to Venezuelan drug routes and points to a 2013 video, released in 2024, showing Castro's brother-in-law meeting drug traffickers.

Transcript

But then that's the reason because the former vice president Kamala Harris went to the inauguration of the lady president Somar Castro and the same day at the same time that they were having a meeting the the vice president Harris and and the president Castro was the time in which they were putting my indictment over here. You see how synchronized ... Read More

Key Insights

• Juan Orlando Hernández argues his U.S. indictment was politically timed, claiming it was issued the same day Kamala Harris met Honduran President Xiomara Castro at her inauguration, which he presents not as speculation but as coordinated action.
• The alleged Honduras-Venezuela link centers on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's statement, made roughly three to four months before the interview, that the Honduran government was receiving money to allow drugs from Venezuela to pass through Mexico.
• Hernández says he confronted the Venezuelan ambassador during his first term over drug flights into Honduras and Venezuelan repression claims, and gave the ambassador 15 days to secure help or leave the country after asking three times.
• A video released in September 2024 by InSight Crime, recorded in 2013, purportedly shows Carlos Zelaya, brother of the current first gentleman, meeting Los Cachiros drug trafficking leaders, discussing more than $525,000 in bribes.
• Hernández claims the exculpatory 2013 video was not allowed in his trial because he lacked time to review it, and only examined it clearly afterward, describing it as showing narcos backing the leftist party to remove extradition laws.
• The narcos in the alleged video reportedly saw electing the leftist party as their only chance to eliminate the extradition and other laws Hernández created as speaker about three weeks before the election, offering roughly $650,000 in support.
• Hernández says the key witness against him admitted having no evidence, no calls, no video, no audio, and no documents tying him personally to trafficking, yet the witness possessed many videos of other people.
• Hernández notes that for three years of DEA discussions, witnesses named many Honduran politicians but never mentioned him, only implicating him later as what he calls their 'get out of jail free card' after he had just won an election.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why does Juan Orlando Hernández believe his U.S. indictment was politically motivated?

Hernández argues the indictment was timed to coincide exactly with the day Kamala Harris, then vice president, met Honduran President Xiomara Castro at her inauguration. He states the meeting and his indictment happened on the same exact day, calling the synchronization deliberate. He frames it as the United States supporting Castro in exchange for indicting him, insisting this is not speculation but 'what is happening,' presenting a photo of Harris and Castro meeting as evidence of the timing.

Q: What connection does Hernández allege between Honduras and Venezuela regarding drug trafficking?

Hernández claims Honduras' leftist party is closely tied to Venezuela's left. He cites U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's statement, made three to four months before the interview, that the Honduran government was receiving money to allow drugs from Venezuela to pass through Mexico. He references the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles and says that during his term he confronted the Venezuelan ambassador about drug flights coming from Venezuela to Honduras.

Q: What did Hernández do about drug flights from Venezuela during his presidency?

Hernández says he summoned the Venezuelan ambassador during his first term to raise two issues: Venezuelans in Honduras claiming government repression, and maps showing drug flights from Venezuela to Honduras. He said Colombia was already helping, and that his government created maritime, aerial, and land shields to stop drugs crossing Honduran territory. He asked the ambassador three times for help and warned that without an answer in 15 days, the ambassador would have to leave the country.

Q: What is the 2013 video Hernández says was withheld from his trial?

The video, released in September 2024 by the investigative organization InSight Crime but recorded in 2013, purportedly shows Carlos Zelaya, a prominent congressman and brother of the current first gentleman Manuel Zelaya, meeting leaders of the Los Cachiros drug trafficking organization. The traffickers discussed offering more than $525,000 in bribes, some allegedly destined for Manuel Zelaya. Hernández calls it exculpatory and says he was not allowed to use it during his trial because he lacked time to review it.

Q: How did President Castro and Carlos Zelaya respond to the 2013 video?

According to the account read during the interview, after the video emerged Carlos Zelaya acknowledged that the meeting did take place and resigned from his leadership position in Congress, but stated he was unaware of the individuals' illicit businesses. President Xiomara Castro described her brother-in-law's actions as a 'deplorable error.' The video was recorded in 2013 and released in September 2024, purportedly showing the meeting with Los Cachiros traffickers.

Q: What does Hernández say about the evidence used against him at trial?

Hernández says the key witness against him admitted, when asked, that he had no evidence tying him to trafficking, no records of calls, no video, no audio, and no documents. Yet the same witness admitted having many videos of other people. Hernández also notes that after winning the election, his government seized almost a billion dollars, and argues the witnesses presented against him were people seeking protection from extradition and incarceration in Honduras.

Q: Why does Hernández find it suspicious that witnesses only named him late?

Hernández says that for three years while traffickers spoke with the DEA, they named many Honduran politicians and public officials they claimed to have paid, but never mentioned him, even though he was the most recognized politician after just winning an election. He argues they implicated him only later because his name became the 'jail free card' they needed. He also references a witness meeting in Belize published by the New York Times a week before he won.

Q: What motive does Hernández attribute to the narcos backing the leftist party?

Hernández says a public video shows narcos stating their only chance was for the leftist party to win, because winning would let them eliminate the extradition and other laws he had created as speaker about three weeks before the election. He claims the traffickers agreed to support the campaign with roughly $650,000 and other help so the left would win and he would lose, because they knew what would happen if he won.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Juan Orlando Hernández, former President of Honduras, tells Patrick Bet-David that his U.S. indictment coincided exactly with Kamala Harris meeting new Honduran President Xiomara Castro at her inauguration, which he presents as proof of political coordination timed to back Castro against him.

• He alleges close ties between Honduras' leftist party and Venezuela's left, citing Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that Honduras received money to let Venezuelan drugs pass through Mexico, and recounts confronting the Venezuelan ambassador over drug flights and giving him 15 days to help or leave.

• Hernández points to a 2013 video, released by InSight Crime in September 2024, purportedly showing Carlos Zelaya meeting Los Cachiros traffickers discussing over $525,000 in bribes. He says this exculpatory evidence was barred from his trial, and that witnesses lacked direct proof against him.