Former Honduran deputy mayor arrested on drug charges after United States petitioned for his extradition
A former Honduran deputy mayor was arrested in Honduras and is now awaiting extradition to the United States.
Mario Hernández was captured at a farm in the municipality of Catacamas on Friday, Honduras Security Minister, Gustavo Sánchez, said.
The 42-year-old's arrest came just four days after Honduras National Police revealed a 1 million lempiras reward, about $40,000, for any information leading to his arrest.
Hernández was scheduled to appear before a judge at the country's Supreme Court on Friday afternoon.
Sánchez said that the government received support from the United States two years to organize a special unit to hunt down Hernández.
Mario Hernández, the former deputy mayor in the Honduran city of Gracias, was captured on Friday. Hernández is facing cocaine trafficking and weapons charges in New York. His extradition to the United States is pending
The Honduran government said that Mario Hernández (center first row) was a member of a criminal structure that was led by former President Juan Orlando Hernández and former Congressman Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernández, both of whom were convicted of drug trafficking charges by a New York federal court
Hernández was deputy mayor of the municipality of Gracias (2014 to 2018) in the department, which is similar to a state, of Lempira and had been wanted since 2019. He allegedly moved around the department of Olancho without being caught due to the support he had with criminals and businesses.
Authorities simultaneously searched five different regions in Olancho and the department of Lempira until they were able to locate his whereabouts in Catacamas.
Hernández was indicted on conspiring to traffic cocaine and illegally possessing and using machineguns and destructive devices by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in January 2019.
He was named as a co-conspirator in the case against former Honduras Congressman Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernández, who was convicted of three counts, including cocaine trafficking, and was sentenced to life in prison by a New York federal court in March 2021.
His brother, former President Juan Orlando Hernández, was found guilty of drug trafficking charges in March.
'He belongs to the criminal structure of the constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado, and his brother 'Tony' Hernández,' Sánchez said.
Former deputy mayor Mario Hernández was wanted by Honduran authorities since 2019 and evaded capture by moving around the department of Olancho
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (center) was indicted on drug trafficking charges by a New York federal court in March
Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernández, the brother of Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal court in New York in March 2021
During 'Tony' Hernández's trial, convicted drug trafficker Víctor Hugo said that Mario Hernández trafficked cocaine from Colombia through Guatemala before the shipments made it to the United States.
Mario Hernández faces 10 years to life in prison if he is convicted on the drug trafficking charges.
He also faces 30 years to life in jail for the possession of machineguns and destructive devices to conspire to import cocaine. In addition, he is looking at a life sentence for conspiring to use and carry the weapons to conspire to traffic cocaine.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York declined a request for comment to DailyMail.com.
