The longest hours for Juan Orlando Hernández

The police escort President Juan Orlando Hernandez upon his arrival at the Palace of Justice this Wednesday.- (AFP)

Former President Juan Orlando Hernández spent his first night in detention in the room of an officer of the

Special Forces .

The ones that are usually available for criminals and gang members were in such a bad state that, even in the midst of the humiliations experienced the day before, they decided that he was not fit for him and they chose to lock him in one of the control rooms.

During his first night in something resembling a prison, the president who governed Honduras for the last eight years was allowed to make a call - to his wife - and was told that in the coming days he would be entitled to a daily visit of no more than of 30 minutes.

Before going to sleep, they checked his health status and that he had taken the medicines for diabetes and hypertension that he suffers from.

The next day, this Wednesday, was not much more rewarding.

He began at ten in the morning in front of the judge and ended up knowing that he would remain in that same cell for another month because the judge set the next hearing for March 16.

Shortly before ten in the morning, a convoy took him from the 21st of October neighborhood to the facilities of the Judicial Branch, near Kuwait Boulevard.

To mislead journalists and possible murderers, a decoy caravan was used, which was followed by everyone while the vehicles that were actually transporting them arrived at the judicial building by another route.

At that time, groups of supporters and enemies of Juan Orlando had gathered at the doors of the building and threatened to fight until the police intervened between the protesters, mainly groups of women.

Through the same door that Hernandez's vehicle entered, the 12 lawyers who lead his defense also entered.

A video recorded inside the judicial facilities illustrated how the handcuffs that had been placed on him the day before had disappeared, in an image that went around the world.

The video shows that, while he was walking through the corridors of the judicial headquarters, some workers came out to applaud him or even make a heart shape with their fingers to tell him: "You are not alone."

#Loúltimo: Among applause employees of the Judicial Power, receive the former president @JuanOrlandoH upon his arrival at the CSJ for Information Hearing.

pic.twitter.com/MIaM31thF7

– Riccy Montoya 💎 (@Riccy_Montoya) February 16, 2022

Judge Edwin Ortez's job is to analyze the information sent by the United States regarding the trafficking of 500 tons of cocaine through Honduras and make a decision on his extradition.

According to this information, Juan Orlando faces three charges: "conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the United States", "use or carry firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices" and, the third, "conspiracy to use or carry firearms". of fire in support of the conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States.”

What's next for Hernandez

In the 32 extraditions to the United States approved so far, the matter has been resolved in two hearings, as happened on this occasion.

In the first appointment, the extraditable person is informed of the charges against him, and a month later the hearing for the presentation of evidence takes place.

Subsequently, the judicial resolution is awaited, which can be issued in the period that the judge considers.

Hernández is accused of having conspired with his brother Tony, a former congressman who was sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking in New York last year and has been preparing his defense ever since.

However, Wednesday's arrest caught everyone off guard.

One of his lawyers, Hermes Rodríguez, acknowledged that it was Monday afternoon when they realized thanks to a message on Twitter from the Foreign Ministry that the capture was underway.

Until that moment, they relied on diplomatic protection thanks to his position as a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) and, if necessary, in a voluntary surrender to the prosecution.

The reality, however, is that an operation was organized that mobilized dozens of soldiers and even a helicopter and included a spectacular arrest in which he was handcuffed hand and foot.

Once before the judge, another of his lawyers, Félix Ávila, admitted that the strategy is to "oppose the extradition request" and request a measure other than arrest.

“This hearing of information is the equivalent to the hearing of the accused;

there is the opportunity for the defendant's defense to request a measure other than arrest, ”said his lawyer in an interview with

.

The judicial decision could be followed by an appeal by the defense.

Until now, as he said in a recent interview with EL PAÍS, Hernández's main strategy has been to discredit the witnesses who cited him more than a hundred times in New York, saying that they are dangerous drug traffickers detained and extradited by him whose objective is to reduce their sentences.

Hernández has focused on Devis Rivera, a star witness for the prosecution and leader of the Los Cachiros cartel, and the person who has collaborated the most with US authorities to dismantle some of the most important drug trafficking networks in Honduras.

Hernández also argues that, during his time as president of Congress, in 2012, he promoted a constitutional reform that allowed extradition to the United States, something theoretically contradictory for those who today are one step away from being brought before the American justice system.

Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS América newsletter and receive all the key information on current affairs in the region