Honduras' then-President Juan Orlando Hernández at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, last November. Photo: Andy Buchanan/Pool/Getty Images
Honduras' former President Juan Orlando Hernández can be extradited to the U.S. to face drug trafficking and weapons charges, a judge in the Central American country ruled on Wednesday night.
Why it matters: Hernández, who denies any wrongdoing, has since 2017 been accused of electoral fraud and was named as a co-conspirator in a New York drug trafficking case last year.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month there's credible evidence that Hernández "engaged in significant corruption by committing or facilitating acts of corruption and narco-trafficking" and also that he may have used the "proceeds of illicit activity to facilitate political campaigns.
What to watch: Hernández could appeal the judge's decision to grant the U.S. extradition request.
The big picture: The former president, who left office in January, turned himself in to police last month after officers surrounded his home following the U.S. extradition request.
- Hernández has said that drug traffickers made the claims against him in revenge for their being extradited when he was in power, per AP.
- Representatives for the Biden administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Go deeper: Central American leaders targeted for corruption sanctions
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.