An Ex-President Of Honduras Appears At His First Extradition Hearing In The United States On Narcotics Allegations

Hernandez, who ruled the Central American country for eight years until last month, is now facing a US extradition request, which aims to force him to face drug trafficking accusations in American courts.

"You're not by yourself!" One admirer of Hernandez's right-wing National Party told local TV TSI, "There is a great political party that supports you."

A altercation erupted in front of the justice ministry, where Hernandez's hearing was held, with pushing and shoving as well as some rock tossing, but police swiftly dispersed the crowd.

According to Judiciary spokesperson Melvin Duarte, the judge overseeing the extradition case has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for March 16.

Hernandez will be held at a police special forces base until then, according to the judge.

After the ex-president and one-time Washington ally pledged his cooperation, Hernandez, 53, was arrested by police on Tuesday in a scene broadcast live on local television.

According to a document obtained by Reuters from the US Embassy, Hernandez was involved in a scheme to transport enormous amounts of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela to the United States via Honduras. According to the paper, he was paid millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for protecting drug dealers.

Hernandez has denied all wrongdoing and has already attempted to put doubt on prosecutors' evidence while emphasizing his earlier backing from US officials.

In a big cocaine trafficking case last year, a US judge sentenced Hernandez's brother to life in prison plus 30 years.

"Of course we did!" Yes, we did it. "They're bringing in the corrupt narco-dictator," claimed Manuel, a member of the Marxist Libre party of new President Xiomara Castro.