Former Honduran Police Chief Accused of Drug Trafficking
(CNN Spanish) --
In Honduras, the former director of the National Police, Juan Carlos Bonilla, popularly known in the country as "El Tigre Bonilla" was captured this Wednesday.
Police reported that Bonilla's arrest was at a toll at the Zambrano community, north of the capital Tegucigalpa.
According to the Secretary of Security, Ramón Sabillón, Bonilla's capture responds to the extradition request presented by the United States Government in May 2021, which accuses him of having allegedly participated in three crimes related to drug trafficking.
Since the extradition request was notified, the former police chief was a fugitive from justice, evading the arrest warrant issued by the natural judge who was appointed to hear the case.
The case dates back to April 2020 when the Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey S. Berman, and the DEA Special Agent, Wendy Woolcock, announced in a statement that Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, alias “El Tigre”, He was charged in federal court in Manhattan with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and weapons-related offenses involving the use and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
The statement further stated that Bonilla would have abused his position and flouted the law in a violent international drug trafficking conspiracy on behalf of convicted former Honduran legislator Tony Hernández and his brother, the then president of Honduras.
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Bonilla is also accused of having murdered a rival trafficker, to promote the conspiracy.
On several occasions, Bonilla has declared himself innocent of the charges brought against him by the US justice system.
It is expected that this Thursday the former head of the Honduran Police will be brought before a judge to begin the extradition process requested by the United States.
Bonilla, who was head of the National Police in the years 2012-2013, was held in provisional detention in the facilities of the National Directorate of Special Forces, where he is also an intern, awaiting his extradition process to the United States, former president Juan Orlando Hernandez.