The political propaganda phase begins in Honduras 2:48
(CNN Spanish) -
In Tegucigalpa they arrested former Army captain Santos Rodríguez Orellana, who the authorities are investigating for alleged crimes related to organized crime and drug trafficking, the Honduran Public Ministry confirmed this Thursday in a statement.
Rodríguez Orellana currently aspires to the country's presidency in the general elections of November 28 as an independent candidate of the Independent Movement Dignity and Hope (DIME).
The Prosecutor's Office maintains, citing statements from a protected witness, that when Rodríguez Orellana was a military officer, he would have carried out operations in the Brus Laguna sector in the department of Gracias a Dios, in the Honduran Atlantic area, and that when he found money he did not declare it and stayed with part of the drugs and weapons that he confiscated.
Former Army Captain Santos Rodríguez Orellana leaves the Sentencing Court after appearing at a conciliation hearing for a complaint filed against him on September 24, 2020. (Credit: Orlando Sierra / AFP / Getty Images)
The statement also links Rodríguez Orellana to the death of a DEA informant.
Rodríguez Orellana's finances
The Public Ministry indicates that, based on an analysis of Rodríguez Orellana's finances, it determined that during his time as an officer the detainee received gross income equivalent to more than US $ 104,000 and a total net salary income of about US $ 33,913.
In contrast to these declared figures, says the Prosecutor's Office, they found almost US $ 10 million that would not be justified.
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The former captain was arrested along with his wife, Jennifer Lizzet Bonilla, who is also accused of money laundering.
So far neither of them has made a statement about their capture.
The legal representative of the former captain Rodríguez Orellana and his wife, Salomón Amador, assured the local media that his clients are innocent and that during the hearing they will present all the evidence to dispel the charges that the Public Ministry imputes to them.
Rodríguez Orellana, who was discharged from the Army with a dishonorable discharge on October 21, 2016, could only be disqualified as a presidential candidate if the Court of Justice gives him a final judgment on the charges against him, the secretary told CNN. of the National Electoral Council, Alejandro Martínez.
