Honduras to terminate US extradition treaty: 'threat to independence'
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Honduras President Xiomara Castro criticizes the US for its intention to intervene in its politics "through its embassy and other representatives," describing this as "intolerable".
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Honduras President Xiomara Castro at her inauguration ceremony in Tegucigalpa on January 27, 2022. (AFP)
Honduras announced on Wednesday that it will be terminating its extradition treaty with the US, accusing Washington of interfering in its relations with Venezuela.
"The interference and interventionism of the United States, as well as its intention to manage the politics of Honduras through its embassy and other representatives, is intolerable," President Xiomara Castro wrote on X, ordering the Foreign Ministry to "denounce" the treaty.
La injerencia y el intervencionismo de los Estados Unidos, así como su intención de dirigir la política de Honduras a través de su Embajada y otros representantes, es intolerable. Agreden, desconocen y violan impunemente los principios y prácticas del derecho internacional, que…
— Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (@XiomaraCastroZ) August 28, 2024
"They attack, ignore, and violate with impunity the principles and practices of international law, which promote respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, and universal peace. Enough," she added.
Castro's left-wing government has a strong relationship with Venezuela, which is currently under pressure from the US and other Western countries after the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro.
Following the leader's announcement, Washington's diplomatic mission received a letter from the Honduran government officially communicating its denouncement of the extradition agreement, which its Foreign Minister Enrique Reina later shared on social media.
Presidenta @XiomaraCastroZ he procedido a cumplir su orden de inmediato, remitiendo la Nota No. 111-DGAJTC-2024 mediante la cual comunicamos oficialmente la denuncia al Gobierno de los EEUU del tratado de extradición entre Honduras y EEUU. pic.twitter.com/aNhT9RduT3
— Enrique Reina (@EnriqueReinaHN) August 28, 2024
US intervention in Honduran-Venezuelan relations
Castro's order to terminate the extradition treaty with the US follows remarks from its US Ambassador Laura Dogu, who expressed her concern about an upcoming meeting with Honduran authorities and Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who is under US sanctions.
The US Ambassador to Honduras told reporters that she was surprised that Honduran Defense Minister Jose Manuel Zelaya and the nation's military chief are meeting with a "drug trafficker" in Venezuela.
Reina described Dogu's comments as a "direct threat to our independence and sovereignty."
The Vice President of the Honduran Congress, Rasel Tome, told AFP that according to international law, both nations must engage in a discussion to analyze Tegucigalpa's decision, and "if they agree, the agreement can continue."
The bilateral agreement was established as a key tool intended to dismantle Honduras' "narco-state," according to US authorities. The treaty was built under former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison in June for drug trafficking.
Over the past decade, 50 Hondurans have been extradited to the US for drug-related reasons.
