“131 unclassified DOS [Department of State] cables produced to the defense are numerous cables that identify specific U.S. Government officials who met with Juan Orlando to discuss efforts to combat drug trafficking and corruption in Honduras” (Doc. 639-1, p. 32).
The trial of former Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernández is now delayed until February 20th pending on-going discussions about the use of classified information. The trial has entered a critical moment where all parties—the U.S. government, JOH’s attorneys, and special Department of Justice authorities (known as CISOs)—are trying to reach an agreement on how certain classified material will be admitted as evidence in the trial. This is a problem for the U.S. because it wants to hide and limit disclosing their ‘classified’, 12-year collaborative relationship with their ‘democratic’ drug-trafficking ally in Honduras.
Scheduled to begin on February 12, the trial against ex-President JOH has now been moved to February 20th pending further discussions about classified information under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA). Although none of the hearings or conversations that discuss the classified information are public, it seems that JOH’s defense team is fighting to use documents that outline the collaborative relationship between JOH and the U.S. over several years.
Currently, the CIPA process in JOH’s case is at the Section 6c stage which according to the Department of Justice, permits the Government to propose unclassified “substitutes” for classified information that the defense seeks to use and has been admitted as evidence for trial. At 3 pm today (Friday, February 16th), all parties will meet in a classified hearing to come to an agreement about the substitute material. If the government disagrees with what is ruled, the decision can be appealed in another court, causing once again more delays in the trial’s start date.
Limiting the Scope and Fighting to Keep Classified Material, Classified.
In a heavily redacted document filed on December 7th, 2023, U.S. prosecutors try to limit the use of material related to the U.S. relationship with JOH. They write: “the Government seeks an order from the Court excluding as irrelevant and/or inadmissible certain proposed testimony noticed by the defendant” (Doc. 639-1, p. 8). They point out that “131 unclassified DOS [Department of State] cables produced to the defense are numerous cables that identify specific U.S. Government officials who met with Juan Orlando to discuss efforts to combat drug trafficking and corruption in Honduras” (Doc. 639-1, p. 32). And then seek to advance the argument among others, that: “this trial is about Juan Orlando’s actions, not the U.S. Government’s conduct in foreign operations or relations” (Doc 639-1, p. 40). Interestingly enough, the document cites the United States v. Noriega case in the 1990s, where courts limited the use of classified information that discussed the collaborative relationship between the U.S. and Noriega to avoid confusing the “focus of the trial from allegations of drug trafficking to matters of geo-political intrigue” (p. 639-1, p. 45).
JOH’s defense is possibly trying to use similar arguments as Noriega or argue that he could not have been trafficking drugs while maintaining such strong communication and collaboration with U.S. authorities. At this point, it is hard to know what JOH’s defense has up their sleeves as a large portion of their strategy will not be revealed until trial and after the CIPA process is resolved.
The Level of U.S. Collaboration with JOH: An Embarrassment to the U.S. and Canada
For years, the U.S. government shared security and intelligence information with JOH while he was head of state, coordinated military and police operations, and continued to meet with him even after his brother, Tony Hernández was found guilty on drug trafficking, weapons charges, and lying to federal agents. This collaboration includes:
- In 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly and JOH signed an agreement to enhance cooperation involving aviation security between the U.S. and Honduras.
- The U.S. resumed sharing aircraft radar intelligence with Honduras in 2012.
- Joint drug interdiction operations between the DEA and the Honduran police including high-level vetted training and sharing intelligence information.
- The DEA visited Honduras and met with JOH in March 2019 to “build upon the relationship with the DEA, as we [the U.S. and Honduras] work jointly to combat drug trafficking.”
- The U.S. provided operational, detention, and monitoring support to Honduras under JOH’s Presidency to disrupt transnational criminal activity in the coastal waters of Central America.
And so many more that may only be outlined in classified documents in the hands of the U.S. and Canadian governments.
#DeclassifyDocsHN
It is too easy for the U.S. government to hide behind claims of protecting national security to prevent the publication of documents related to their relations with Honduras and a drug trafficking President. Classified documents about the U.S. and Canadian relationship with Honduras since the 2009 coup and their support for the post-coup regimes, must be declassified and made public. These documents should form part of a larger investigation, including Parliamentary and Congressional hearings and inquiries about why the U.S. and Canada stood by JOH despite the warning bells for so many years.
Even though the trial is set to start on February 20th, it seems possible that the trial will be delayed once again until the classified information issue is resolved. In the meantime, the ‘Putting the U.S. and Canada On Trial’ campaign will continue.
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To follow and support the campaign
We are campaigning to hold the U.S. and Canada responsible for supporting the Honduran narco-state as former President Juan Orlando Hernández & police officers go to trial in New York on February 2024 (pending any further date changes).
- Read Update #1: U.S. and Canadian support for the coup: Creating the conditions for the construction of a narco-state.
- Read Update #2: Trial date change. The campaign continues.
- Read Update #3: “The U.S. government’s go-to man on the war on drug trafficking” pleads guilty to drug trafficking
- Read Update #4: The U.S. and Canada Supported Three Contested and Fraudulent Elections (2009, 2013, 2017).
- Read Update #5: Live from New York.
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Web: Bit.ly/NarcoTrialCampaign
Contact: karen@hondurasnow.org & honsolnetwork@gmail.com
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