Honduras extradites reputed drug kingpin to the US
Tegucigalpa, Aug 18 (EFE).- Honduran reputed drug lord Jose Luis Oliva was handed over here Thursday to authorities of the United States to face charges he conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into the US.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) plane carrying Oliva, also known as “the lord of the skies” and “the boss of bosses,” to Texas took off at 8:25 am from Hernan Acosta Mejia Airbase in Tegucigalpa.
Washington submitted a request for his extradition on April 6 and we was apprehended in May in the Caribbean city of La Ceiba.
Oliva, who at the time of his arrest possessed Nicaraguan identification documents under the name Raduan Omar Zamora, engaged in drug trafficking on a “grand scale,” according to the US indictment.
The defendant used go-fast boats, fishing trawlers and even submarines to transport drugs from South America, the prosecutors said.
The Honduran Attorney General’s Office said that Oliva was convicted in 2011 for money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison, but successfully applied for probation based on the time he served while awaiting trial.
Oliva is the 34th Honduran national extradited to the US on drug charges since 2014.
Earlier this year, Honduras handed over to the DEA former President Juan Orlando Hernandez – whose brother was already behind bars in the US – and the erstwhile head of the national police, Juan Carlos Bonilla. EFE gr/dr
