A pair of Guatemalan cousins who were indicted by U.S. federal prosecutors on drug trafficking charges in December appear to have turned themselves over to authorities, according to court documents that show they are scheduled to be arraigned in New York court later this week.
The cousins, Otto and Ronald Salguero, are linked to the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and were indicted as co-conspirators of former Honduran congressman, Juan Antonio ‘Tony’ Hernandez, the brother of president Juan Orlando Hernandez.
Tony Hernandez was convicted of drug trafficking charges in a New York trial last fall and faces possible life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for September 16. Prosecutors accused him of leading "a sophisticated state-sponsored organization that distributed cocaine for years" and in the process made Honduras "one of the most violent places in the world."
A key witness in the trial identified the Salguero cousins as being present at a meeting in El Paraiso, Honduras, when Guzman allegedly gave $1 million dollars in cash to Tony Hernandez as a contribution to his brother’s 2013 election campaign later that year.
The prosecution’s star witness, confessed drug trafficker and former El Paraiso mayor, Alexander Ardon, told the jury he met several times with then presidential candidate Juan Orlando Hernández to discuss the financing of his election campaign in 2013 with drug money.
The mayor said he spent $1.6 million on the successful Hernandez campaign. ”That money came from the proceeds of drug trafficking,” he told the court.
Ardon said he met with 'El Chapo' and Tony Hernandez around a table at Ardon’s house in El Paraiso, the mayor's home town near the Guatemalan border, where the $1 million was delivered to Tony Hernandez in plastic bags of cash, in bundles of $50,000 and $100,000.
The Salguero cousins join an increasingly long list of former drug traffickers who could someday be called to testify against Hernandez.
They operated out of Amates, Izabal, Guatemala, near the border with Honduras.
They would receive shipments from Honduras and transport them to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, according to the December indictment.
Announcing their indictment in December, Manhattan U.S. Attorney, Geoffrey Berman, said: “As alleged, these defendants conspired with the corrupt Honduran officials they bribed to facilitate the importation into the U.S. of large quantities of cocaine for the Sinaloa cartel. They allegedly provided security personnel – armed with machineguns and RPGs – for the drug shipments.”
The Tony Hernandez trial captured national attention in Honduras, provoking protests calling for the resignation of President Hernández.
The president is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case. He has has repeatedly denied the allegations against him saying they were "100% false, absurd and ridiculous … Alice in Wonderland crazy."
Hernandez says his government has bravely taken on drug traffickers with "a transnational anti-crime strategy" that included extradition.
Despite the allegations in court, the Trump administration has continued to praise Hernandez's efforts to combat drug trafficking and the flow of Central American migrants.
The U.S. State Department also this month quietly renewed certitication for Honduras to receive millions of dollars in U.S. aid, despite failing to demonstrate progress on human rights and rule of law. The Tony Hernandez trial was briefly mentioned in the State Department's report, though the alleged role of Juan Orlando Hernandez was not.
In its yearly International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the U.S. State Department said, "The political will of the Honduran government to combat drug trafficking in coordination with U.S. law enforcement agencies continues, but significant challenges to success remain."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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