Honduran ex-president Hernandez to be extradited to U.S. next week

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) -Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez will be extradited next week to the United States, where he faces drug trafficking and firearms charges, Honduran Security Minister Ruben Sabillon said on Wednesday.

“The extradition will happen next week,” Sabillon said. “We have to get in touch with U.S. authorities for his surrender,” Sabillon told TV news channel HCH.

The Central American country’s Supreme Court last month authorized Hernandez’s extradition.

The 53-year-old former leader is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes to protect drug traffickers from investigation and prosecution.

Hernandez has been in police custody since mid-February, when he was arrested after a dramatic stakeout that left him holed up in his home. He emerged hours later, pledging to cooperate with authorities.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Alistair Bell)