What Happened Today
- Miguel Reynosa (a pseudonym), a Honduran detective from the DNLC finished on the stand (see day four for more on his testimony)
- Professional translater and interpretor, Mr. Prado (his full name was inaudible in the court) testified about his translations of the drug ledgers.
- Jennifer Taul, a DEA intelligence research specialist provided an overview of drug movements and prices in Honduras and more broadly, the region.
- Luis Perez (a pseudonum), a former member of the Sinaloa cartel began to testify.
Key Details That Surfaced
- Juan Orlando Hernández’s defense team tried to create various doubts about the drug ledgers and the meaning of the ‘JOH’ initials found in them. The defense did this by:
- Questioning detective Reynosa about the ‘chain of custody’ used by Honduran investigators in Honduras after the ledgers were seized. They questioned the detective as to why he believed ‘JOH’ in fact refers to Juan Orlando Hernández and not a company or another person.
- Questioning witness Prado about the translations of the ledgers, attempting to create doubts about whether ‘JOH’ was really referring to Juan Orlando, a woman or a company with the initials ‘JOH’.
- DEA research specialist Jennifer Taul described drug trafficker routes from South America to Central America, establishing air, land, and maritime transportation routes with a focus in Honduras; and how the price of cocaine increases the farther away it moves from Colombia.
- Witness Luis Perez (a pseudonym), a former member of the Sinaloa cartel that had served his time in U.S. prison and walked freely into the courtroom (opposed to being brought in like other drug traffickers currently in prison), testified that he provided a total of $2.4 million to JOH’s political campaigns. He then described three different payments totaling $1.4 million (NOTE: The discrepancy between $1.4 and $2.4 million in what was described in today’s testimony is not clear. It is possible the contributions were given to or through other National Party politicians as was outlined by the same witness in Honduran drug trafficker Fredy Nájera’s case):
- 1) Perez made a $500,000 contribution through a man named ‘Mario’ who he described as the second highest ranking official at the Puerto Cortés port in northern Honduras (NOTE: Pro-Honduras Network identifies ‘Mario’ to be Miguel Pastor, the former head of the highway/road infrastructure and former mayor of Tegucigalpa). In exchange, Perez was able to use Puerto Cortés to receive cocaine in shipping containers from Colombia/Venezuela.
- 2) Perez provided a second payment of $500,000 through Arnulfo Valle of the Valle Valle cartel. Arnulfo requested the money prior to meeting with Tony Hernández, Fabio Lobo (currently in prison for drug trafficking and son of the former President of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo) and others. In exchange, Perez asked that JOH provide him with information about the DEA’s operations in Honduras.
- 3) Days before the 2013 elections, Perez provided approximately ~$400,000 in campaign as a ‘final push.’ The money was given to the head of security of the Vice Presidential candidate running alongside JOH. This person is likely to be Ricardo Alvarez.
- When asked how Perez he laundered his drug money, Perez described how a female Israeli diplomat with a diplomatic passport carried a total of $100 to $150 million in diplomatic luggage from Honduras to Colombia between 2008 to the end of 2010. The diplomat was paid 3% of the total amount she transported to Colombia.
What Will Happen Tomorrow
- Luis Perez will continue to be cross-examined by JOH’s defense.
- The prosecution will call more witnesses to testify.
