Honduran President Xiomara Castro (left) promised that under her leadership the country would cease to be a “narco-state”as it had been for the previous twelve years when the National Party (conservative right) was in power. His predecessor, Juan Orlando Hernández, known as “JOH” (2014-2022), was sentenced on June 26 to forty-five years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking.
But a video, published on Tuesday, September 3, by the research site. InSight Crime and the Univision channel distorted this story. The images date from November 2013, before the presidential elections between Xiomara Castro and JOH – he will win. We see three of the most powerful drug traffickers of the time offering 650,000 dollars (then 489,000 euros) to Carlos Zelaya to finance the Liberté et refondation (Libre) party.
However, Carlos Zelaya is the brother of Manuel Zelaya, known as “Mel”, president from 2006 to 2009, before a coup d’état ousted him from power. And Mel is none other than the husband of Xiomara Castro, the current president, to whom he is also an advisor. Carlos Zelaya was, until August 31, a deputy for Libre. In 2013, he coordinated the Mme Castro in the department of Olancho (east). In the video, Carlos Zelaya tells the drug traffickers: “Half will go to the commander”in reference to his brother.
“A deplorable mistake”
It was during JOH’s trial in New York, which took place between February 21 and March 8, that the “narco” Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, one of the leaders of the Cachiros cartel, revealed that he had given money to Carlos Zelaya. Another witness claimed to have also bribed Mel Zelaya. “In my seventy-two years of life I have never received money from drug trafficking”the former president then defended himself.
“A member of our party made a regrettable mistake, without informing the coordinator, the candidate or the party. He did it behind our backs.declared, Friday, September 6, Mme Castro, who did not mention his brother-in-law’s name. We deplore any action or negotiation between politicians and drug traffickers. The video has shaken the country, one year before the presidential elections. Many voices, such as that of the head of the National Anti-Corruption Council, Gabriela Castellanos, have called for the resignation of the president, who denounces an attempt to destabilise her government. A demonstration brought together several thousand people on Friday in the streets of Tegucigalpa.
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