The Fortune of Juan Orlando Hernandez: A Detailed Investigation

In eight years in power, no luck JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ And his family grew rapidly.

According to research published by CNA In 2022, the former presidential family registered at least 109 real estate properties and 11 companies, in addition to 267 million Lempira in investments in commercial companies during JOH’s years in the presidential chair.

Real estate includes houses, apartments, land, fields, farms, buildings and commercial premises. Some of these assets were acquired jointly with his siblings Hilda (deceased), Tony and Aixa or his wife Ana Garcia.

Among the companies, Inverness Ducal Hernández Alvarado is a real estate and tourism project company; Inverness del Rio, an agricultural company; and a construction company that has participated in public works such as cable cars and the Santo Domingo Metro.

A set with information from CNA X-ray, digital portal Criterio.hn and Pasos de Animal Grande, titled “The Fall of a President,” shows that Hernández and his immediate family circle amassed a fortune consisting of 109 real estate properties, investments in commercial companies Consists of 11 companies and 267 million Lempira.

These goods and investments are distributed between the capital Tegucigalpa and the departments of Lempira and Olancho, where they originate.

The investigation also noted that former first lady, Ana Garcia sold a $1.2 million house in Miami, United States in November 2019.

Likewise, CNA indicated that Tony Hernandez was removed from Inverness del Rio in 2017, a year before turning himself in to US justice, but the Public Ministry never seized assets in favor of that company.

The fortunes of JOH and his family contrast with the reality of poverty, inequality and violence experienced by the majority of the Honduran population. According to the World Bank, 48.3% of Hondurans live in poverty and 14.7% in extreme poverty. Additionally, Honduras has the highest homicide rate in the world, with 38.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020.

According to CNA, JOH’s assets are scattered in the departments of Tegucigalpa, Gracias, Lempira and Olancho.

“The appearance of the Hernández Alvarado and García Carrias families in corruption scandals and links to drug trafficking indicates how they managed to acquire so many properties in Honduras and abroad in such a short time,” reads the CNA report.

Juan Orlando Hernandez was born on October 28, 1968 in the city of Gracias, Lempira Department. thatNumber 15 of 17 siblings, according to the BBC.

Completed his studies at Military High School Del Norte, in San Pedro Sula, from where he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant of infantry, and immediately after studying law in the capital, at the National University of Honduras.

The US Department of Justice published a full indictment against the former president, whom it says was part of a conspiracy to transport more than 500 tons of cocaine into the United States.

“Hernandez abused his position as president of Honduras between 2014 and 2022 to run the country as a narco-state,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference in Washington.

Before the extradition, Hernandez assured that the criminals and drug traffickers had received a “magic key” from the United States specifying the charges against them.

JOH maintained that the most effective weapons in the fight against drug trafficking are extradition and cooperation with the United States government.

“I took the lead in fighting to approve extradition, we did it despite many voices of opposition, no one involved in drug trafficking would fight to approve extradition,” he said.

According to the Millennium Challenge Account (MCC), Honduras saw an 18% reduction in corruption control during JOH’s tenure.

The MCC argued that when Hernández took over his first term, TIA rated Honduras as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking it 126 out of 175 countries, 2.9 points out of 10 (zero being the worst rating).

Eight years later, the score had dropped to 2.4 points, making it one of the 23 countries with the lowest transparency worldwide.

During the hearing with Judge Kevin Castell, “JOH” alleged that he lacked the financial resources to pay private lawyers.

His wife, Ana García de Hernández, confirmed the “difficult financial situation” in an interview with journalist Dario Banegas.

When asked about the truth of the lack of funds, Garcia admitted: “It’s real that they don’t have money to pay a lawyer and that’s why they requested a public defense lawyer,” he declared.

The limitation of financial resources was exacerbated by the confiscation of property and assets the couple experienced. “Remember that they confiscated our properties, confiscated what we had, that’s our reality,” explained Garcia.

Because of his financial situation, JOH asked Judge Kevin Castel for a public attorney. Days later, Renato Stabile was appointed alongside Raymond Colon in defence.