The Honduran government has lashed out at the United States. It has also decided to unilaterally end its extradition agreement with the U.S. The President of Honduras Xiomara Castro blamed the ‘interference and interventionism of the United States’ for the decision. Taking to X, she minced no words, writing, “They (the U.S.) attack, ignore and violate with impunity the principles and practices of international law, which promote respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples, non-intervention and universal peace. Enough.” In the same post, she directed the Foreign Minister to denounce the extradition treaty with the U.S.
It all started with a meeting held last week between Honduran Defence Minister Jose Manuel Zelaya and his Venezuelan counterpart Vladimir Padrino. When the pictures from that meeting were released in the press, the U.S ambassador to Honduras expressed shock at this meeting. Ambassador Laura Dogu told local reporters the United States was concerned after last week’s meeting. She expressed surprise that Honduran leaders had met with ‘drug traffickers’. The U.S. indicted Padrino on drug charges in 2020.
The extradition treaty with the U.S. has helped American drug enforcement agencies
Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez was extradited to the U.S. under this treaty.
He was convicted by a U.S. court on drug trafficking charges. It also saw the extradition of former Police Chief Juan Carlos Bonilla.
Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina said his nation had cooperated with the U.S. in its war against drug trafficking. “But we consider these allusions that these government officials, who work in Defence and hand in hand with U.S. authorities, can imply that they are involved in drug trafficking and this is unacceptable,” he said in a televised statement. “They can not force another country to take the positions they (U.S.) want and must respect Honduras’ stance.”
Honduras is a staunch ally of Venezuela’s Maduro government. Despite calls for other nations for Maduro to come clean on the controversial vote count. Honduras has supported the Maduro government.
This is the second nation in Central America where the U.S has been caught in a verbal duel in the last few days. Before this, the U.S Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar’s comments on Mexico’s judicial reforms drew the ire of Mexico’s President President Lopez Obrador.
