President
of Honduras Xiomara Castro delivers a speech in Paris, France, on
October 18, 2023. JULIEN DE ROSA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Honduras promises to end extradition treaty with US after ambassador comments
TEGUCIGALPA,
Aug 28 (Reuters) - Honduras' foreign ministry on Wednesday said it
would end a more than a century-old extradition treaty with the U.S.
after Washington's ambassador expressed concern about a meeting between
Honduran and Venezuelan defense officials.
In
a letter to the U.S. embassy shared on social media by Foreign Minister
Enrique Reina, Honduras' foreign ministry expressed "the decision of
the Government of the Republic of Honduras to terminate the extradition
treaty."
Earlier
on Wednesday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro ordered a denunciation -
a unilateral withdrawal of a treaty in international law - and accused
Washington of meddling in her country's affairs.
"The
interference and interventionism of the United States, as well as its
intention to direct the politics of Honduras through its embassy and
other representatives, is intolerable," the leftist leader said in a
post on social media.
The U.S. embassy in Honduras did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
U.S.
Ambassador to Honduras Laura Dogu had earlier told local TV reporters
the United States was concerned after a meeting last week between
Honduran Defense Minister Jose Manuel Zelaya and his Venezuelan
counterpart, Vladimir Padrino.
Zelaya
was joined by the country's head of the military joint chiefs of staff.
Dogu said she was "surprised" they met with "drug traffickers."
The United States indicted Padrino on drug trafficking charges in 2020.
"Insinuating
or implicating us as drug traffickers and disqualifying our authorities
is really a direct threat to our independence and sovereignty," Reina
said on social media.
Honduras is a staunch ally of Venezuela's socialist government.
The
extradition treaty has allowed for the extradition of high-profile
Hondurans, including former President Juan Orlando Hernandez and former
Police Chief Juan Carlos Bonilla.
Hernandez,
a one-time U.S. ally, was extradited to the U.S. after Castro took
office in 2022 and has since been convicted and sentenced in U.S. courts
on drug trafficking charges.
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Reporting by Orfa Mejia; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Kylie Madry and Cynthia Osterman