Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Hondurans disillusioned with leader amid scandal and end to US extradition treaty

News

Hondurans disillusioned with leader amid scandal and end to US extradition treaty
News

News

Hondurans disillusioned with leader amid scandal and end to US extradition treaty

2024-09-05 02:15 Last Updated At:02:21

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — An incriminating admission by the brother-in-law of Honduras' president just days after the country announced it would end its longstanding extradition treaty with the U.S. is feeding fears among Hondurans that the country's legacy of corruption is continuing.

President Xiomara Castro had inspired hope when she was elected the Central American nation's first female leader in 2021 on a promise to “pull Honduras out of the abyss we have been buried in by neoliberalism, a narco-dictator and corruption.”

Despite being married to former President Manuel Zelaya Rosales – ousted in a coup in 2009 – she was a breath of fresh air for many Hondurans after the presidency of Juan Orlando Hernández, who in June was sentenced to 45 years in prison by a U.S. federal court for drug trafficking.

But as gang violence has continued to roil Honduras and several scandals have plagued Castro's government, frustration has replaced that initial optimism for many Hondurans who now see her as the same brand of corrupt leader that has long ruled their country.

“We thought that corruption would end with Xiomara Castro, because they were supposed to be different from previous governments, but they have turned out to be the same or worse,” said 44-year-old Gabriel Hernández, who works in marketing in the capital, Tegucigalpa.

The latest blow came this weekend, when Castro’s brother-in-law, Carlos Zelaya, part of Libre’s leadership team in the Congress, admitted that he had met with a leader of the drug trafficking organization “Los Cachiros” in 2013.

Zelaya, brother of the former president, revealed the details to the press when he went to the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Saturday to give a statement related to an investigation into his alleged links to drug trafficking.

He said the drug trafficker offered support to Libre’s campaign that year, when Castro made a failed first bid for the presidency. Zelaya explained that at the time, he did not know that people in the meeting were linked with drug trafficking.

“Eleven years ago I was invited to participate in a meeting in which there was a group of businessmen who wanted to make a contribution to the campaign,” Zelaya said as he left the Public Prosecutor’s Office. “I am convinced that that meeting and everything that happened there was recorded. I fell into a trap, I assume my responsibility.”

His admission came just days after Castro’s foreign affairs minister announced Honduras was ending an extradition treaty with the United States following a spat with an American diplomat. The treaty had been in place for over a century and since 2014, 64 Hondurans have been extradited to the U.S., largely on drug trafficking charges. Among those was former president Hernández.

“I don’t think this is a coincidence, I don’t think it’s random ... This is an issue that could be a turning point in Castro’s presidency,” Breda said. “Unless Castro steps back and reestablishes the extradition treaty, this move will inevitably be seen as a way to protect their family.”

Those suspicions were shared by Hondurans like Hernández, the marketing worker, who said that even an “ordinary person like me" knows that it was not a coincidence.

The discontent may be a major political burden for Castro and her Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) in the lead up to next year's elections, said Tiziano Breda, a is a Latin America expert at the conflict analysis organization ACLED. The recent moves by the government “weaken the argument that brought Libre to power, which was basically to kick out the corrupt elite that was in cahoots with drug trafficking organizations," he said.

The frustrations among Hondurans coincide with sliding approval numbers for the president. Compounding that discontent is also unemployment, economic turmoil and failures to reduce the level of violence.

“It’s common for politicians to play these kinds of games, looking for ways to escape justice, not be accountable to the people, to hide their misdeeds and thus continue their legacy of corruption, which ultimately never ends,” marketer Hernández said.

It’s not the first time Castro has faced criticism for perceived corruption.

Last year, the director of a Honduran anti-corruption organization fled the country with her family over threats she received after publishing a report on nepotism in the Castro administration. The organization had warned of a “concentration of power” from government posts going to the children and other relatives of Castro and her husband, the former president.

Carlos Zelaya’s announcement was followed by another from his son, Honduras Defense Minister José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, who tendered his resignation in an effort to ensure no favoritism would be shown to his father.

On Sunday, Castro announced that Zelaya Rosales, her nephew, would be replaced as defense minister by presidential hopeful Rixi Moncada Godoy.

Moncada Godoy will “raise our flag high and remind us that our true value lies in dignified, strong and determined people who forge their own destinies,” Castro said.

——

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

FILE - Honduras' President Xiomara Castro waves during the swearing-in ceremony for Colombia's President Gustavo Petro in Bogota, Colombia, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

FILE - Honduras' President Xiomara Castro waves during the swearing-in ceremony for Colombia's President Gustavo Petro in Bogota, Colombia, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — Southern California firefighters made progress against a wildfire that has destroyed 132 structures, mostly houses, and was fanned by gusty winds that began easing Friday, allowing some people to return to sort through the charred remains of their homes.

Maryanne Belote returned to her hillside neighborhood in Camarillo, a city northwest of Los Angeles, after making a harrowing escape with her cat, her dog and her horses as the blaze raged in the area. The only thing standing was a rock wall she built.

“If I hadn’t gotten the horses, I would have been devastated, but I have my family and I have my animals so, I’m OK. I will rebuild,” she said standing outside the remains of her home of 50 years while her dog stayed in her car.

The Mountain Fire started Wednesday morning in Ventura County and had grown to 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers). It was 7% contained Friday morning.

Bill Nardoni and his family sifted through the rubble of their Camarillo home on Friday afternoon and discovered his wedding ring in a safe. But his wife's, kept in a different safe in another part of their house, remained missing and Nardoni did not have high hopes that it would be found intact.

Nardoni, his wife and his visiting mother-in-law fled Wednesday morning with their dogs as flames engulfed both sides of their road. They returned Friday to devastation at a home they'd bought only a year ago that was still going through a remodel.

“The house is decimated. There’s nothing to be salvaged really out of it,” he said. "I don’t know what we’ll do.”

Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders Friday morning as the fire continued to threaten about 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County.

At least 88 additional structures were damaged in addition to the 132 destroyed. Officials did not specify whether they had been burned or affected by water or smoke damage. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Ten people suffered smoke inhalation or other injuries that were not life-threatening, Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff said.

Crews working in steep terrain with support from water-dropping helicopters were focusing on protecting homes on hillsides along the fire's northeast edge near the city of Santa Paula, home to more than 30,000 people, county fire officials said.

Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees during the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds, including in a rural area of northern San Diego County where a brush fire prompted mandatory evacuations Friday afternoon.

Santa Anas are dry, warm and gusty northeast winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal onshore flow that carries moist air from the Pacific. They typically occur during the fall months and continue through winter and into early spring.

The red flag warnings, indicating conditions for high fire danger, expired in most of the area Thursday, except in the Santa Susana Mountains where the warnings expired Friday morning when winds began diminishing.

The Santa Anas are expected to return early-to-midweek next week, said Ariel Cohen, a National Weather Service’s meteorologist in Oxnard,

An air quality alert for harmful fine particle pollution was in effect from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon due to smoke from the wildfires.

More than a dozen school districts and campuses in Ventura County were closed Friday due to impacts from the fires, according to the county’s Office of Education.

The Mountain Fire was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years. The fire swiftly grew from less than half a square mile (about 1.2 square kilometers) to more than 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in little more than five hours on Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency in Ventura County.

Rodriguez reported from Los Angeles. Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles, Jae C. Hong in Camarillo, California, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

Heidi Nardoni, at right in doorway, and family friends search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Heidi Nardoni, at right in doorway, and family friends search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Peter Banks helps search the home of the Nardoni family that was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Peter Banks helps search the home of the Nardoni family that was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Heidi Nardoni, left, and family friends search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Heidi Nardoni, left, and family friends search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Heidi Nardoni, left, and Peter Banks adjust masks as they search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Heidi Nardoni, left, and Peter Banks adjust masks as they search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Bill Nardoni shows his wedding ring that was found in the remains of his home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Bill Nardoni shows his wedding ring that was found in the remains of his home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The remains of a car sits at the site of a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The remains of a car sits at the site of a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The remains of a car sit under debris at the site of a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The remains of a car sit under debris at the site of a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter works near homes destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter works near homes destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter works at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter works at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters work at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters work at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Partial remains of a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire remains standing in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Partial remains of a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire remains standing in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters work at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters work at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Firefighters gather at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters gather at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Joey Parish visits his home, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Joey Parish visits his home, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters gather at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters gather at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Joey Parish phones his wife, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, while standing in front of his home, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Joey Parish phones his wife, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, while standing in front of his home, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Fawn Parish hugs battalion chief Robert Welsbie, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, as his firefighters help sift through rubble at her home, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Fawn Parish hugs battalion chief Robert Welsbie, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, as his firefighters help sift through rubble at her home, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Joey Parish walks through his home, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Joey Parish walks through his home, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, which was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A chimney stands at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A chimney stands at a home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows the flames surrounding a house near Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows the flames surrounding a house near Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows fire-ravaged houses in Camarillo, Calif., on Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows fire-ravaged houses in Camarillo, Calif., on Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows houses in Camarillo, Calif., before being damaged by the fire, on Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows houses in Camarillo, Calif., before being damaged by the fire, on Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This combo of two satellite images released by Maxar Technologies shows houses before and after being fire-ravaged in Camarillo, Calif., Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This combo of two satellite images released by Maxar Technologies shows houses before and after being fire-ravaged in Camarillo, Calif., Thursday Nov. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

A firefighter prepares to douse flames while battling the Mountain Fire on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter prepares to douse flames while battling the Mountain Fire on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter battling the Mountain Fire watches flames from a firing operation burn off vegetation around Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter battling the Mountain Fire watches flames from a firing operation burn off vegetation around Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Todd Howard sifts through the remains of his parents' fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Todd Howard sifts through the remains of his parents' fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Marvin Meador walks on the remains of his fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Marvin Meador walks on the remains of his fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A helicopter drops water as the Mountain Fire burns along South Mountain Rd. on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A helicopter drops water as the Mountain Fire burns along South Mountain Rd. on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A helicopter drops water while battling the Mountain Fire along Waters Road in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A helicopter drops water while battling the Mountain Fire along Waters Road in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jaime Hernandez sprays water to defend his home while battling approaching flames from the Mountain Fire near Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Hernandez has been staying behind to fight multiple wildfires since 1988. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Jaime Hernandez sprays water to defend his home while battling approaching flames from the Mountain Fire near Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Hernandez has been staying behind to fight multiple wildfires since 1988. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies push a vintage car away from a burning home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies push a vintage car away from a burning home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Horses gallop in an enclosure at Swanhill Farms as the Mountain Fire burns in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Horses gallop in an enclosure at Swanhill Farms as the Mountain Fire burns in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Kelly Barton, left, is hugged by a family friend after arriving at her parents' fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Mountain Fire, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Kelly Barton, left, is hugged by a family friend after arriving at her parents' fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Mountain Fire, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Todd Howard, left, sifts through the remains of his parents' fire-ravaged property with the help of firefighters after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Todd Howard, left, sifts through the remains of his parents' fire-ravaged property with the help of firefighters after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter walks through smoke while battling the Mountain Fire on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter walks through smoke while battling the Mountain Fire on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Inmate firefighters battle the Mountain Fire at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Inmate firefighters battle the Mountain Fire at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Flames from the Mountain Fire leap along a hillside as a horse stands in an enclosure at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Flames from the Mountain Fire leap along a hillside as a horse stands in an enclosure at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Recommended Articles