鈥楢 door of hope has opened.鈥� A fresh start for justice in Honduras?
| TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras; and Mexico City
Belkis Galindo raced outside to dance and sing alongside hundreds in the Honduran capital on Feb. 15, marking the arrest of former President Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez.
鈥淲e were all waiting for it,鈥� says Ms. Galindo, who works in marketing. Mr. Hern谩ndez, who served eight years as president and oversaw a period of increased poverty, violence, and international migration, was taken into custody by Honduran police the day after the United States requested his extradition for drug trafficking and weapons charges.
We鈥檙e 鈥渏ust waiting for the day when they actually send him [to the U.S.]. There will be more justice there than here,鈥� says Ms. Galindo.
Why We Wrote This
Do the arrests of high-profile politicians or kingpins in Latin America and their extradition to the U.S. actually help their home countries? In Honduras, many hope their new government can deliver justice in their own courts.
Despite the celebrations, this moment is bittersweet. Extradition is a tool that鈥檚 been used in the region by the U.S. since the 1970s to take often 鈥渦ntouchable鈥� politicians and drug traffickers and try them in a system that鈥檚 less susceptible to the local threats, bribes, and political maneuvering back home. But with Mr. Hern谩ndez鈥檚 extradition on the table, many in Honduras are imagining a different possibility: justice for high-profile criminals within Honduran borders.
鈥淗onduras is worthy of a better fate [than extradition],鈥� says Ana Pineda, professor of law at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) and former secretary of justice and human rights. 鈥淗onduras should have robust internal institutions, and the heads of these institutions should be selected for ... professional merits so that when they have the opportunity to investigate anyone 鈥� regardless of their position 鈥� they do so without hesitation.鈥�
There are glimmers of hope, she says, that a shift toward a more independent justice system could be on the horizon. For the first time in 12 years, a new party is in power, pledging to deliver justice for corrupt officials, bring back an international anti-corruption committee, and revive Honduras鈥� weakened democracy through a constituent assembly. And already citizens are making clear that they are prepared to pressure the government to keep judicial appointments aboveboard and in clear view of the population.
鈥淣o foreign justice system is going to indict all of our corrupt leaders,鈥� says Rafael Jerez, a Honduran political analyst and research fellow at the Institute for Transnational Law at the University of Texas at Austin.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not that difficult if there is political will,鈥� adds Ms. Pineda. 鈥淎nd this government has shown that it wants to do things differently.鈥�
Shifting views of extradition
Extradition to the U.S. from Latin America was long justified by weak justice systems that couldn鈥檛 handle trials of high-profile politicians or kingpins, says Luz Estella Nagle, a law professor focused on transborder crime at Stetson University in Florida. Although there has been significant U.S. government investment in the region鈥檚 justice systems, corruption is still its Achilles鈥� heel.聽
In 2016 and 2017 alone, the U.S. sent more than $104.56 million to Honduras in aid earmarked for justice-system and police reform, according to the latest available from the Central America Monitor by the Washington Office on Latin America.
鈥淪ome feel that [legal] aid has been wasted. Because if we鈥檝e invested so much money and time, ... why has so little changed?鈥� says Ms. Nagle.
But one thing that has changed is the way alleged criminals perceive extradition. It was once feared, based on the belief that sentences were harsher in the United States. But today, the threat of facing justice in the U.S. doesn鈥檛 loom so large in the mind of accused criminals, says Pablo Rueda-Saiz, an associate professor of law at the University of Miami who grew up in Colombia when Pablo Escobar was waging war against the government and civilians in protest of his extradition.
In stark contrast to the weekly bombings and violence that shut down schools and supermarkets, and took down airplanes, during Mr. Escobar鈥檚 fight against extradition, accused criminals today may seek it out. 鈥淭hey do get sentences, but of course reduced sentences due to plea bargaining,鈥� says Mr. Rueda-Saiz. Oftentimes they don鈥檛 lose their assets, even if ill-gotten, and can remain in the U.S. after serving their sentence, he adds. 鈥淪o, many actually request to be extradited to the U.S. That鈥檚 a 180-degree turn since Pablo Escobar.鈥�
But a central complaint from the region is that by taking someone to face justice in the U.S., they aren鈥檛 held accountable back home.
Local victims and citizens 鈥渓ose out by not getting to participate in the process of a trial,鈥� says Ms. Nagle, who notes that these are not victimless offenses. 鈥淎nd who are the victims? The most vulnerable ... and they should have a chance to face鈥� the accused, Ms. Nagle says.
A weakening justice system
Delio Colindres, a fruit vendor, was passing near the former president鈥檚 house on Feb.15, when he noticed a heavy police presence. It wasn鈥檛 long before Mr. Hern谩ndez was brought out in handcuffs.
The past several years have been difficult in Honduras economically, Mr. Colindres says. He felt the pain of gas and electricity price hikes. About 48% of Hondurans lived on less than $5.50 a day in 2019, and the poverty rate reached as high as 51.5% during Mr. Hernandez鈥檚 time in office, according to the . Mr. Colindres may not have had evidence, but he says he鈥檚 long thought Mr. Hern谩ndez was up to no good. The U.S. sentenced the former president鈥檚 brother, Tony Hern谩ndez, in 2021 for drug trafficking, which bolstered this perception. To that end, Mr. Colindres supports Mr. Hern谩ndez鈥檚 extradition: 鈥淚n Honduras, with money, anyone goes free.鈥�
In 2021, Honduras ranked in the bottom 13% on the corruption perception index, according to a ranking of 180 countries by . Since , the year before a historic coup, the country has fallen more than 30 spots down the list.
Honduras鈥� 2009 coup exposed the weaknesses of its judicial system and opened the door for further politicization. Soon after, Mr. Hern谩ndez, a member of the National Party, which ruled post-coup Honduras until its defeat at the polls last November, became president of the Congress.
The justice system underwent a number of changes that consolidated the power of the conservative ruling party, from stacking the Supreme Court with judges sympathetic to Mr. Hern谩ndez鈥檚 party to allowing him to run for reelection, despite a constitutional ban. In 2020, Mr. Hern谩ndez allowed the mandate to expire on an international anti-corruption commission backed by the Organization of American States, known as the MACCIH, which investigated high-profile corruption cases.
The justice system was so co-opted by the National Party that any potential criminal case implicating party members or their interests stopped before it could even begin, says Ms. Pineda, who served as secretary of justice and human rights under Mr. Hern谩ndez鈥檚 predecessor, who was also a member of the National Party.聽
Another factor was U.S. support for Mr. Hern谩ndez during his time in office.聽As recently as 2020, the acting secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security referred to Mr. Hernandez鈥檚 government as 鈥溾�� in Central America.聽The seemingly abrupt shift from support for the former president to a request for his extradition raises questions about how much the U.S. knew 鈥� and perhaps overlooked 鈥撀燼bout his alleged criminal activities. Nevertheless, backing from the U.S. 鈥渇acilitated his [grasp] on power,鈥� says Mr. Jerez, from the University of Texas.
The former president had supporters at home too. 鈥淗e did good things. He helped me,鈥� says Karen Jimenez, a street vendor, crediting his party with keeping a roof over her head. She thinks the accusations against him are false and that if he is to face any trial, it should be at home.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 seem right to me that [the U.S. will] judge him there when he isn鈥檛 from there. He鈥檚 from here,鈥� she says.
A fresh start?
President Xiomara Castro, who took office Jan. 27, campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket, promising to restore the independence of Honduras鈥� justice system. Congress formed a last month to investigate why the country failed to bring charges against Mr. Hern谩ndez. The idea is that if the U.S. is bringing these charges, which cite alleged crimes as far back as 2004, then the Honduran justice system must have known about them, too.
Ms. Castro鈥檚 government recently the assistance of the United Nations to create an international commission to investigate corruption, as well. Next year, legislators will name new members of the Supreme Court and an Attorney General, key appointments that will set the tone for the justice system for the next five years.
鈥淚f these processes are transparent, ... it would be very positive for our country,鈥� says Luis Javier Santos, director of the Specialized Prosecutorial Unit against Corrupt Networks (UFERCO), housed within the public prosecutor鈥檚 office. 鈥淭here would even exist the environment for the people who are now being extradited to be tried in our country 鈥� not the same ones, but the next corrupt people who emerge of this same level,鈥� he says, hopefully.
Since the beginning of Mr. Hern谩ndez鈥檚 second four-year term, civil society has become increasingly vocal against corruption and closed-door deals within the government. Ms. Castro鈥檚 administration will likely feel that growing pressure.
After 12 years of leadership that gutted social services and inspired hundreds of thousands to flee Honduras, civil society and average citizens want more from their political system.聽
鈥淲ith this new government a door of hope has opened,鈥� says Mr. Santos. 鈥淎nd we hope that it doesn鈥檛 close.鈥�
Editor's note: The聽time聽when Mr. Hern谩ndez became president of Honduras' Congress has been corrected.
