As
Honduras Ex Prez
Juan Orlando
Hernandez Awaits
Trial Demands US
Emails to
Opposition
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 29 – After
the president
of Honduras'
brother Tony
Hernandez was
convicted of
drug
trafficking
and sentenced
to life plus
thirty years,
on April 21,
2022 the
ex-president
himself, Juan
Orlando
Hernandez, was
extradited to
the United
States.
[Espanol aqui]
Inner City
Press which covered the trials
of Tony Hernandez and Giovanny
Fuentes Ramirez immediately published
the unsealed JOH indictment,
which was returned on January
27, 2022 but left under seal.
On October 25,
JOH's October 27 proceeding
was pushed back, to November
15, 2022 - and when it
happened, Inner City Press was
there, and live tweeted,
thread here
and below.
On February 3,
2023 JOH's lawyer moved to
sever his trial from that of
Tigre Bonilla: " it is the
defendant’s position that
prejudicial spillover will
occur in that evidence that is
admissible against one or both
of the other proposed
defendants (i.e. Mauricio
Hernandez Pineda and Juan
Carlos Bonilla Valladares
(i.e. “El Tigre Bonilla”) will
be prejudicial to the former
Honduran President, Juan
Orlando Hernandez Alvarado."
Full letter on Patreon here.
On April 2, 2023,
Juan Orlando Hernandez through
counsel objected to provisions
and omissions from the
prosecutors' CIPA order, for
example seeking to add
"Because disclosure of
additional individuals to the
government’s trial team would
reveal defense trial strategy
and attorney client
communication, approval shall
be sought from walled
government counsel and not
from trial team at the United
States Attorney’s Office..."
On April 12,
Judge Castel appointed a
discovery coordinator for JOH
and others: "ORDER APPOINTING
EMMA M. GREENWOOD AS
COORDINATING DISCOVERY
ATTORNEY as to Victor Hugo
Diaz Morales, Juan Antonio
Hernandez Alvarado, Mario Jose
Calix Hernandez, Mauricio
Hernandez Pineda, Amado
Beltran Beltran, Otto Rene
Salguero Morales, Ronald
Enrique Salguero Portillo,
Fernando Felix Rodriguez,
Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, Juan
Orlando Hernandez, Juan Carlos
Bonilla Valladares. (Signed by
Judge P. Kevin Castel on
4/12/2023)."
On May 29, 2023 -
Memorial Day - JOH's lawyer
filed a lengthy discovery
request including for "71.
Provide all U.S. communication
with and digital intercepts in
Honduras or the United States
of Juan Orlando Hernandez
Alvarado from 2010 to the
present, inclusive of his
custodial detention at the
Metropolitan Detention Center
(MDC) in Brooklyn, New York.
72. Provide all Defense
Information Systems Agency
Infrastructure information
sharing activity and
communications across the
Department of Defense. 73.
Provide all DOS and the Office
of Public Diplomacy and Public
Affairs communications,
Blackberry Messaging, press
releases, emails (encrypted,
as well as non-encrypted),
“cables,” foreign service
Honduras desk officer’s emails
and texts related to Juan
Orlando Hernandez Alvarado,
related to his efforts on
behalf of the United States’
and Honduras’ efforts and
antinarcotics joint operations
in the War on Drugs. 74.
Provide all U.S.
Embassy-Tegucigalpa officials’
meetings, communication,
emails, texts with Honduran
opposition political parties
during the course of Juan
Orlando Hernandez Alvarado’s
two administrations. 75.
Provide any and all internal
and external communications,
information, changes by U.S.
Embassy Officials and DOS
Personnel with Honduran press,
media and journalists;
Specifically, entities such as
INFOBAE; Univision, Telemundo,
CNN, et al. and opposition
parties." Full request on
Patreon here.
On March 14,
2023, Judge Castel ruled that
Pineda and his lawyers can't
take discovery / 3500 material
out of the US: "ORDER as to
Mauricio Hernandez Pineda. IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED that the
defendant and his defense team
including but not limited to
Messrs. Ma and Womble, and any
U.S. based paralegals,
investigators, and
interpreters working for the
defendant, Mr. Ma, and Mr.
Womble shall not transport or
transmit any of the 3500
Material outside of the United
States; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED
that the defendant and his
defense team shall not show or
disseminate any of the 3500
Material to anyone other than
the defendant and U.S. based
paralegals, investigators, and
interpreters working for
Messrs. Ma and Womble; IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that the
defendant shall not possess
any of the 3500 Material,
either before, during, or
after the Trial, except when
reviewing the 3500 Material in
the presence of Mr. Ma and/or
Mr. Womble or U.S.-based
paralegals, investigators, and
interpreters working for
Messrs. Ma and Womble; IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that the
defendant and his defense team
shall return to the
Government, or destroy, all of
the 3500 Material at the close
of the Trial or when any
appeals have become final; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that
defense counsel may seek
authorization of the Court,
with notice to the Government,
to provide certain specified
materials to persons whose
access to such materials is
otherwise prohibited by this
Order, if it is determined by
the Court that such access is
necessary for the purpose of
preparing the defense of the
case. (Signed by Judge P.
Kevin Castel on 3/14/2023)."
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2023 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|