Washington, USA
The Chancellor of Honduras, Lisandro Morales, Has defended this Friday in Washington in an interview with Efe that his government is a reliable partner for USA for his management of corruption, despite accusations linking the president, Juan Orlando Hernández, to drug trafficking.
Rosales, who is visiting the US capital for the opening of bilateral dialogue tables with Washington, said the trip is a continuation of the “historic relationship” the two countries have maintained.
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The Foreign Minister arrives in the United States after a New York court sentenced Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández, the brother of the president of Honduras, in addition to 30 years in prison for drug trafficking, in a sentence that to emphasize that the criminal activities of the convict had been sponsored by the same state of the Central American nation.
Question: How has the recent condemnation of the president’s brother affected the relationship with the US? Does it put them at a disadvantage in the face of Joe Biden’s government?
Interviewee: It does not put us at a disadvantage, because the facts speak for themselves. We have achieved in the last 10 years a 95% reduction in drug trafficking in Honduras. Before, in 2011, 87% of the drugs passed through Honduras and I do not say it, says INL (acronym in English of the Section of Anti-Narcotics Affairs and Law Enforcement), which is an agency of the Department of State.
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Traces in 2009 showed that 87% of the planes carrying drugs passed through Honduras; traces presented to us by the Southern Command (of the U.S. Armed Forces) last year indicated much or no aircraft activity in Honduran territory.
It is curious that, when trials are taking place in New York and it is accused that there is no collaboration in Honduras, that in Honduras there is no work … 1.6 tons are being caught at the same time. of cocaine by Honduran security forces accompanied by DEA agents.
So, it’s a disconnect from reality. What’s going on? In these cases, the main witnesses are confessed murderers who have confessed to 78 deaths in Honduras, who were or had to flee the country because of the strong laws that were being put against drug trafficking and that the only recourse to lower their all they have left is to come and lie to a court in the US
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So it is a task that we will continue to do, President Hernández has been clear ‘my fight against organized crime and drug trafficking will be until my last day of Government’, although he has already had four assassination attempts on the his life, this must be valued.
The struggle of the agencies in Honduras must also be valued, because the National Police, the Armed Forces and the Public Ministry have taken strong action and will continue to take strong action against drug trafficking.
Question and answer
Q: Do you consider that President Joan Orlando Hernández can be a valid interlocutor before the United States?
E: He has been a reliable partner, he has been a person who has shown him in the US that things have been done willingly and he has been a person who has shown a character and determination to work in the way that is required, in the right way.
Q: How does President Hernandez view the relationship with the U.S. after the accusations?
E: That is precisely why we are here to continue this historic relationship that we have maintained with the US. Remember the geostrategic importance of Honduras. For us, keeping a Honduras at peace, a Honduras free from organized crime is a conviction held by President Hernández and will continue until his last day in government, which is January 27, 2022. .
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Q: This episode is reminiscent of a life in Colombia, when former President Ernesto Samper faced accusations about the contribution of drug money to his campaign. At that time, the US withdrew his visa
Q. Has the US government notified you of any such retaliation against President Hernandez?
E: The president has not been notified of any action in this regard, the president is currently focused on national reconstruction, he is focused on continuing this fight that I mention against organized crime.
There has been no official communication from the US that there is action in this regard.
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Q. What issues will you address during your visit to the US Government?
E: It is to install the work tables that we have been programming (…) Just opened with the presence of the special envoy for the Northern Triangle, Ricardo Zúñiga, this morning and we are already working on them at the moment .
The five tables are migration, which is what it is right now, national reconstruction, hemispheric security, transparency and human rights.