US asks Honduras to arrest, extradite ex-President Hernández

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — After years of speculation in Honduras, the United States formally requested the arrest and extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernández less than three weeks after he left office.

Honduran security forces surrounded Hernández’s neighborhood and the Supreme Court of Justice scheduled an urgent meeting Tuesday morning to select a judge to handle the extradition request

A standoff ensued.

In a video released by Hernández’s legal team, attorney Félix Ávila said that everything would have to wait until a judge was designated.

But Rasel Tomé, vice president of the newly elected National Congress, said Hernández had to turn himself in or he would be captured at 6 a.m.