Two key codefendants in drug case of Honduran ex president change plea to guilty
The Salguero cousins are alleged witnesses to a key meeting where El Chapo Guzman allegedly paid $1 million for Juan Orlando Hernandez's election campaign.
"El caso de Hernández ha enardecido a sus opositores y a sus partidarios. El resultado es un retrato vívido de dos Honduras muy diferentes bajo su mando".
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Two co-defendants of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández pleaded guilty Thursday in a New York federal court, in a dramatic turnaround in the case against the ex-president on drug trafficking and weapons charges.
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The Guatemalan cousins, Ronald and Otto Salguero, had initially pleaded not guilty. Their change of plea is a blow to Hernandez, as it strengthens the government's overall case involving multiple co-defendants, several of whom have also pleaded guilty. Two others were found guilty at trial, including Hernandez's brother, Juan Antonio Hernandez.
The Salgueros' change of plea is "a clear signal that they concede the prosecutors' theory of the case and accept responsibility for their role in it, as opposed to challenging that theory," said a former federal prosecutor.
The trial of Juan Orlando Hernández is scheduled for April 2023.
The Salgueros allegedly witnessed a $1 million bribe from notorious Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman to Hernandez's 2013 presidential campaign. The alleged bribe is the most explosive evidence against Hernandez, and played a key role in the conviction of his brother Juan Antonio Hernandez in 2021, accused of personally receiving the money at a meeting in northern Honduras.
What benefits could the Salgueros gain by pleading guilty?
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By pleading guilty, the cousins could hope to obtain a reduction in their sentences, something less than the life sentence they were facing. However, the terms of the plea agreement are unknown. It appears that the Salgueros have not signed any type of cooperation agreement with the government, according to court records. In that case, they would not be required to testify at Hernandez's trial.
While not good news for Hernandez, it could have been worse if the Salgueros had agreed to cooperate with the government and testify against him at his trial, potentially corroborating a key piece of evidence against him.
The Salgueros pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. They are scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2023.
Another key co-defendant, former Honduran police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla, was extradited to the United States in May on drug trafficking charges. He also faces life in prison, although it is unclear whether or not he is cooperating with the government.
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Meanwhile, another co-defendant, Mauricio Hernandez Pineda, a former police officer and cousin of President Hernandez, will also go on trial in January. His decision to go to trial after more than two years of negotiations with prosecutors was a blow to the government's attempts to obtain more witnesses against the former president ahead of his trial. Hernandez Pineda was allegedly present at the meeting in which El Chapo paid the alleged $1 million bribe to Hernandez's campaign.
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The central park of Gracias, Lempira, shows its indigenous history and the Spanish colonial era.
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Daysi Iglesias sells 'ticusos' a corn dough with beans as well as fruit juices, in the central square of Gracias, Honduras. "Yes, I know that the president's brother is in jail, but only they know what they've been up to. I've no idea. We just stick to our work."
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Gracias coffee grower, Domingo Gutierrez, 58, seated in the central square. Coffee prices have fallen and he struggles to make a living off his eight acres.
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The house of former Gracias deputy mayor, Mario Jose Calix, who was indicted in January with New York and U.S. officials have requested the extradition of Calix, though his whereabouts are unknown. Univision visited his home in Gracias and spoke to his mother who said she hasn't seen her son son "in ages."
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On the outskirts of Gracias, several modern, luxury residences are under construction that stand out in sharp contrast to the traditional, modest single-story homes in the town.
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The municipality of Gracias has 55,000 inhabitants, of which 22,000 live in the town and has an annual budget of approximately $ 2 million, according to the mayor.
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En Gracias, Tony Hernández es recordado como un típico ganadero que fue elegido para el congreso en 2013, así como un apasionado jugador de fútbol.
Crédito: Municipio de Gracias, Lempira/Facebook
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In April 2016 the government inaugurated a small, local airport on the outskirts of town as part of a national tourist plan to link major cities with the nearby famous ancient Mayan ruins of Copan. But the tourists never came.
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The Gracias airport runway is now used almost exclusively by president Hernandez who visits at weekends. Residents also talk in hushed tones of suspicious planes landing in the dead of night bringing cocaine from Colombia, and the eastern Atlantic coast of Honduras.
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Western Honduras is a remote border area with Guatemala and El Salvador.
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El Paraiso, Honduras, is nestled into the mountains of northwest Honduras just a few miles from the border with Guatemala. Draf traffickers took advantage of its strategic location to smuggle cocaine across the border.
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Mayor Alexander Ardon built a splendid new municipal building with a portico with columns that became famous in the Honduran media. But local residents say he did good things for the town, providing basic services they didn't have before.
Crédito: Claudia Mendoza/Univision
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Even if some of the public works in El Paraiso may have been paid for with drug money, residents said they were grateful. When killings took place they were mostly between the drug traffickers. they added.
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El Paraiso is a quiet town located in the province of Copan, in northwest Honduras. It became notorious in recent years as a haven for drug traffickers seeking to transport cocaine into Guatemala en route to the United States.
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Across from the El Paraiso town hall, a new park is being built wiht miunicpal funds, complete with a replica of a Mayan temple. The town in close to the famous Mayan ruins of Copan, one of the country's main tourist attractions.
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Adonias Morales, 53, mayor of El Paraíso in his office. His close friend and former mayor, Alexander Ardon, turned himself in to the DEA in February and is expected to testify against Tony Hernandez, brother of the Honduran president, who goes to trial in New York on October 2, accused of being "a violent multi-ton drug trafficker."
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Univision cameraman, Marvin Valladares, captures images of hillsides cloaked in mist in western Honduras.
