Honduran judge approves extradition of ex-police boss to U.S.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – A Honduran judge on Friday signed off on the extradition of former police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla to the United States, where he is wanted for drug trafficking and use or possession of firearms.

Bonilla, also known as “El Tigre” or “The Tiger,” was captured in early March when he was driving through a toll booth north of the capital Tegucigalpa.

Judicial spokesman Melvin Duarte announced the judge’s decision to send Bonilla, wanted by the Honduran government since May 2021, to the United States.

In April 2020, U.S. authorities accused “El Tigre” of supervising cocaine shipments to the United States on behalf of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez and his brother, former politician Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez.

The former president, who left office in January, is jailed in Honduras awaiting extradition to the United States on drug trafficking and arms possession charges.

Duarte said authorities still do not have a date set to send Hernandez to the States.

A U.S. judge last year sentenced Tony Hernandez to life in prison plus 30 years for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking case.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia, Writing by Kylie Madry; editing by Grant McCool)