DAY ELEVEN: Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez Declared Guilty in New York Courtroom

What Happened Today:

• The jury declared Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez GUILTY on three counts (paraphrasing these below):

  • 1. Conspiracy to import, manufacture, and distribute narcotics into the US,

  • 2. Using and carrying machine guns,

  • 3. Conspiracy to possess or carry weapons for drug trafficking purposes.

Key Details That Surfaced:

• The US Justice Department published a communique following the guilty verdict. Read the public statement here. It mentions the involvement in President Juan Orlando Hernandez several times as well as the Attorney General Oscar Chinchilla.

Photo: Pro-Honduras Network

DAY TEN: Trial Against Honduran Drug Trafficker, Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez

What Happened Today

• Concluding statements

• Jury began to deliberate

Key Details That Surfaced

• An entire summary of the government’s evidence and case against GFR and the defense’s rebuttal.

What Will Happen Tomorrow

• On Monday, the jury will continue to deliberate

Picture: Pro-honduras network

More Details

Prosecutor’s Concluding Statement

• There is overwhelming evidence that Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (GFR) produced, manufactured, and trafficked tons of cocaine to the US using weapons and violence. He had a cocaine lab in the hills outside of his home that was protected by armed men. He bought and paid politicians and cops. He used handguns, assault rifles and grenade launchers to do this.

How GFR Got Started

• GFR didn’t start out as a multi-ton drug trafficker. How did he make that rise happen? He partnered with drug cartels. He bought those he could and murdered those he couldn’t.

• Over the course of this trial, you learned that GFR got started by partnering with Metro [Melvin Sanders, his former business associated, now deceased] to sell kilos of cocaine in Miami. Metro is a cousin of the Rivera Maradiagas, the leaders of one of the most powerful cartels in Honduras. GFR and Sanders, a drug trafficker, a hit man, and someone that obtained hit man for others, were partners.

• In 2000s, they sent small quantities of cocaine to Miami. I say relatively small because each kilogram has 8,000 doses. These aren’t small quantities.

• When the work in Miami fell through, in approximately 2010, Metro and GFR started a drug lab outside their hometown of Choloma.

• But they needed to buy cocaine base and GFR needed money to get the lab up and running to produce cocaine and also, to make more money.

• GFR used boats to bring base into Honduras for the drug lab and later, gave those boats to his drug trafficking partners.

• For every thousand kilos of cocaine, the price of the cocaine by the border is $12,000 to $16,000. Because of these prices, the drug lab was important for GFR.

How We Know GFR’s Drug Lab Existed

• The defense will explain that GFR didn’t have anything to do with the lab. But there is no dispute that he had control of the lab and had a coffee plantation there.

• GFR told Leonel Rivera Maradiaga about the lab inside his car at Rivera Maradiaga’s gas station. GFR described the lab, how it was protected and he asked Rivera Maradiaga to help pay for the lab and cocaine base from South America.

• GFR told Rivera Maradiaga about the lab, about the police investigation and about the raid of the lab. Because of corrupt police contacts, GFR knew about the raid and when it happened so no drugs were found.

• GFR told Rivera Maradiaga again about the lab when he told him about the police he murdered – tortured and executed.

  • GFR, Metro and hit man found the police officer, kidnapped him, tortured him, and while the officer pleaded for his life, they killed him.

  • The murder wasn’t just about revenge. GFT had been tipped off – he did this for information. He wanted to know if Fuad Jarufe’s involvement had been uncovered. It hadn’t and GFR was happy because the man that had bankrolled his drug trafficking was in the clear.

• Javier Choloma [Javier Hernandez Mejía, a former Honduran government treasurer, accused of money laundering in Honduras] told GFR that even though he had closed one investigation into the lab, there was a second investigation in the capital. To protect his assets, GFR and Metro used Javier Choloma to hide/protect the business.

• Jose Sanchez knew about the drug lab. Jarufe had instructed Sanchez to go to the lab and deliver money. Both times, armed security (not coffee farmers) stopped him at the gate, just like GFR explained to Rivera Maradiaga that men with AK47s guarded the lab.

• Two things happened after the raid:

  • 1. GFR laid low: After the raid, GFR wasn’t seen for a month. Witness Medina mentioned this.

  • 2. When GFR returned from lying low, he returned because he found a way out. He killed his way out of the first (killed the police officer leading investigation) and he bribed his way out of the second (through Julio César Barahona of the Judiciary Council). Barahona travelled to help GFR. He paid Barahona $30,000 bribe.

GFR’s Involvement with President Juan Orlando Hernandez

• GFR partnered with Presidential candidate Juan Orlando Hernandez and his brother, Tony Hernandez (TH). In 2013, JOH was President of Congress. He was also the man that appointed Barahona as head of Honduran court system. JOH was running for President and could reap enormous bribes. Rivera Maradiaga talked about paying bribes to JOH, Porfirio Lobo, Mel Zelaya and to Ricardo Alvarez.

  • GFR used a page out of the playbook and used Jarufe for protection.

• GFR gave President JOH $15,000 in cash, but JOH also wanted access to his cocaine lab. Access to the drug lab, which was located close to Puerto Cortés, would allow JOH to export through the port. The lab was worth millions that way. So GFR said he would give JOH access.

  • Tony and Juan Orlando Hernandez became GFR’s drug partners.

  • TH ran drugs for JOH. They accepted bribes from Los Cachiros.

• GFR said he wanted Los Cachiros to invest in the lab but they didn’t, so they found other partners like Chepito Handal [a drug trafficker in the department of Cortés], TH and JOH.

GFR’s Work With Los Cachiros

• The defendant wanted to work with Los Cachiros by running shipments of cocaine and finding hit man.

• In approximately 2009 and 2010, Metro started pitching to his cousins (the Rivera Maradiagas) and his corrupt police contacts.

  • Drugs were brought in from boats and then had to be moved to where the Valles were located near the Guatemalan border. The drugs needed to be protected. They were transported in cattle trucks and protected by armed men.

Using Honduran Police to Protect His Drug Trafficking

• (Show picture of Police Commissioner Martinez with JOH on the screen). GFR worked with dirty cops, including one of the highest-ranking police in Honduras.

  • He worked with Martinez to ship drugs

  • Police Commissioner’s LinkedIn page shows that he had been Director of Finance for the Honduran police and had taken courses on “best police practices.” He could protect GFR with a single phone call.

Corroborating Testimony With Evidence from GFR’s Phone

• What Rivera Maradiaga said is true, because the evidence (pictures, chats, instructions, etc) from GFR shows us that.

• Police Commissioner Martinez warned GFR about being subject to monitoring. Another contact told GFR to stop talking crap on his phone.

• There were police and military contacts on GFR’s phone. Some of those contacts were made through Metro, who got his nickname because of his close relationship to the Metropolitan Police. Other contacts were dirty cops in San Pedro Sula.

• The defendant’s phone had police contacts – both the Sauceda brothers who he met in Fuad Jarufe’s office.

• He had military contacts. He was given a green AR15 rifle from his military friend. GFR bragged about this.

  • GFR’s son had pictures that matched the description.

  • GFR also had uniforms, handcuffs, and we know that because it was on his phone.

• He received a gift from 105 Brigade. Rene Ponce Fonseca was head of that brigade and would later become head of anti-drug team on north coast of Honduras.

• GFR had these contacts because he used them. He used them to protect his cocaine. He pitched these contacts to Los Cachiros in order to work with them and help him with his drug business.

Murders and Crimes That GFR Participated In

• He didn’t just rely on dirty cops and military, GFR also relied on his own savagery.

• Look at what happened to the mechanic: GFR saw an opportunity to impress Los Cachiros. He called his police contact, had the boat mechanic arrested, and murdered him. He took a picture of the dead mechanic and treated it like a job interview.

• He was proud of it, bragged about it, and like Metro said: “would do anything” and soon enough started working with Los Cachiros and also started working with other large drug cartels.

The Three Drug Shipments

• GFR protected 3 large drug shipments, 1. Approximately 425 to 530 drug shipment taken from El Tigre ranch to the Guatemalan border, 2. A drug shipment of 500 to 570 kilograms that landed on a ranch near Tocoa, 3. 425 to 525 shipment sent by Jack.

• GFR used heavy duty weapons to transport.

• He wanted to be the one selling and buying for himself. He used boats to bring cocaine base to be processed but also, bought finished cocaine.

Working With the Sinaloa Cartel

• GFR wasn’t just working with Los Cachiros but also the Sinaloa cartel headed by El Chapo and El Chapo’s cousin Juanito”

  • GFR helped transport a 500 kilo shipment to the Sinaloa cartel and then 5000 kilos then 3,000 kilos. All of this cocaine was destined for the US through Mexican cartels.

Conflict With Los Cachiros

• By this time, GFR wasn’t doing small drug trafficking. There came a time when he asked Rivera Maradiaga for a loan to buy a big shipment from Colombia.

• Rivera Maradiaga didn’t give him the loan, so GFR got mad and tried to have him killed.

• GFR and Metro hired Vaquero to kill. “Pluto” couldn’t sell the cocaine they supplied because it was wet, so defendant hired Vaquero to kill Pluto.

• This was just part of a string of murders – the mechanic, the police officer, and the two hit man that had killed Metro’s brother

• After Pluto’s murder, Vaquero told Rivera Maradiaga about the plan to have Rivera Maradiaga killed. So Rivera Maradiaga asked Vaquero to kill GFR and Metro. Vaquero took armed men to Metro’s house and killed him but GFR was a harder target. After Vaquero couldn’t kill GFR, Rivera Maradiaga and GFR spoke and called a truce.

• Shortly after, Rivera Maradiaga started cooperating with the DEA.

GFR’s Relationship With Businessman Fuad Jarufe

• GFR partnered with Jarufe, who acted as a money laundering and personal bank.

  • US dollars from drug trafficking are no good unless you can launder them. So GFR brought large quantities to Jarufe at a time. He was the only person he laundered money for, and he used his company to launder money. Sanchez knew this right away and acknowledged that he knew it was money laundering.

• The defense might say that GFR is just a biomass businessman but you know they have to launder drug money. They used the same model that Rivera Maradiaga used. GFR took a page from Los Cachiros’ play book.

• Jarufe gave GFR land in Cerro Negro. GFR killed the police officer investigating the land in order to protect Jarufe.

Partnership with President Juan Orlando Hernandez and the Drug Lab

• The partnership started when JOH was running for President and also involved his brother, TH.

• The defense council might argue that it was shut down after the raid. But it’s not true it was shut down.

  • No drugs were seized

  • The police officer was dead

  • And the head of the Honduran court system was bribed.

• Another reason that the lab wasn’t shut down, is that there was too much money to be made.

• GFR still had the drug lab. He still had a partnership with Chepe Handal and with the Sinaloa cartel. The supplies from Colombia were still there and he had an agreement with JOH and TH to continue the lab.

• One more reason GFR didn’t stop was because would do the same thing after 2013, 2014, and as recently as 2019, 1 year before his arrest. He continued to meet with and pay bribes to JOH.

• When he saw Rivera Maradiaga in prison, GFR told him about meetings with JOH as late as 2019, and also meetings with military sent on JOH’s request.

• You know that TH was arrested and the information about JOH was made public.

  • On May 28, 2019, the defendant was going to the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa, repeatedly and went other places including to the Ministry of Economic Development.

  • Again in June 2019, shortly after more public filings were made, GFR was keeping close tabs on the case against TH, a co-conspirator.

Continuing His Crimes

• A few other reasons you know he continued his crimes:

  • His phone: GFR didn’t have a list of contacts of humble businessman. He had the President of his country and the Vice President’s cell phone. He had the cell phone of the regional head of the anti-drug task force.

  • 2. GFR’s admissions in his arrest video. A) He admitted to knowing Vaquero, to knowing he is a hit man that had threatened his own family. He said they had a dispute, B) GFR said he knew Pluto and that he was a drug trafficker, C) He knew Chepe Handal, 4) Metro and Los Cachiros: He said that Metro introduced him to Los Cachiros.

You will hear arguments from the defense council. Examine these arguments looking at the evidence and using your common sense. The defense will tell you not to be believe the evidence or the witness. They will ask you to conclude that Rivera Maradiaga lied. But that doesn’t make sense. It makes sense that Rivera Maradiaga has cooperated extensively. Rivera Maradiaga has given information about the President, Congress, police, cartel leaders and testified in other cases.

The defense will tell you that Jose Sanchez is lying. But he didn’t want to flee his country.

We have provided you with evidence to show how GFR is guilty of the three charges:

1.     Conspiratory to violate narcotics laws

2.     Firearms offense

3.     Conspiracy to commit firearms offense.

DAY NINE: Trial Against Honduran Drug Trafficker, Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez

What Happened Today

• Special Agent Sandalio Gonzalez finished cross examination

• Firearm expert Jonathan Fox testified

Key Details That Surfaced

• US Government rests its case

• Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez's (GFR) defense declined to present witnesses (which is not required by the defense in a criminal case)

What Will Happen Tomorrow:

• Closing remarks (expected to take approximately 3.5 hours)

• Jurors will receive instructions from Judge Castel and deliberations will begin

Photo: Pro-Honduras Network

More Details

Firearms Expert Jonathan Fox

• Works with the Nassau County (unclear?), Office of the Medical Examiner in the Forensic Sciences area. Fox is Forensic scientist 3 in the firearms section. Fox tests and identifies operability of firearms and examines firearm and ammunition evidence.

• A detective for 22 years in police and firearms analysis in the NYPD.

• Fox is shown several photos of weapons found on GFR’s phone that was seized by US authorities upon his arrest. Fox explained each weapon to the court including how it works, what it’s used for (military grade, short versus long-distance firing, etc), and features that it has (easy to conceal, can be modified to be automatic, etc). Fox brought samples of each type of gun to show to the court. Pictures were shown of the following weapons and descriptions were provided:

  • AR15 semi-automatic weapon

  • AR15-type semi-automatic weapon. AR15s can also be fully automatic

  • CZ Scorpion automatic pistol: military use only

  • Pump action shot gun. Used mostly for close range firing because of the way that the ammunition is dispersed.

  • Glock semi-automatic handguns (9 mm and 10 mm) - can be modified with a selector switch. Easy to conceal.

  • Magazines and extended magazines

  • Berreta semi-automatic pistol (9 mm) - less trigger pull making the weapon more accurate

  • CZ semi-automatic handgun

  • M79 Grenade launcher - 40 mm grenade. Effective 400-500 yards. Military-use.

DAY EIGHT: Trial Against Honduran Drug Trafficker, Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez

What Happened Today

• Protected witness “Jose Sánchez” finishes testimony

• Protected witness “Jorge Medina” testifies

• DEA Special Agent Sandalio Gonzalez begins on the stand

Key Details That Surfaced

• Attorney General Oscar Chinchilla was briefly mentioned again in emails between Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (GFR) and his son while GFR was in a US jail. GFR’s sons said that GFR’s partners (military official ‘Comanche’ or Police Commissioner Martinez) told GFR’s sons to talk to Chinchilla directly to see if Chinchilla can help them get the documents that GFR was urgently requesting from jail in the US.

• After the government made public filings in the Tony Hernandez case, prosecutors used geographical location information extracted from GFR’s phone to show that he went to the Presidential palace in at least a few occasions.

• Clips of the video [have to watch a description of other cases as outlined by the Pro-Honduras Network before the actual clips start] of GFR’s post-arrest interview was shown in court. GFR admitted to knowing Los Cachiros; Melvin Sanders (“Metro); Fuad Jarufe; drug trafficker Edgar Rios (“Pluto”;) the assassin “Vaquero”; Chepe Handal; Comanche; Police Sub-Commissioner Sauceda; amongst others mentioned throughout the trial.

What Will Happen Tomorrow

• DEA Special Agent Sandalio Gonzalez will continue on the stand (cross examination)

• A firearms expert will testify

• The government may call an electronic expert and if not, the government is expected to rest its case.

On a Separate but Related Note: Tony Hernandez’s Sentencing

Juan Orlando Hernandez’s brother, Tony Hernandez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 23, 2021. The same judge, Judge Castel who is hearing GFR’s case, will be sentencing Hernandez. A document filed last night by the US prosecutors asks for a life sentence for Tony Hernandez and outlines damning information making reference to post-conviction contextual developments involving Juan Orlando Hernandez. A summary will be posted shortly.

Photo: Pro-Honduras Network

More Details

Cross Examination of Protected Witness “Jose Sanchez” (pseudonym)

NOTE: The Defense attempted to poke holes in Jose Sanchez’s testimony. They raised issues suggesting that Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (GFR)’s did not have an illicit business relationship (coffee and biomass) with businessman Jarufe; that despite the US government’s allegations against GFR, the US government maintained it’s support and training to the Honduran government and state security forces; that Fuad Jarufe’s support for the National party was not unusual and that he allowed the National Party to use his office for meetings; that Jose Sanchez’s recollection of the dates of the meetings between JOH and GFR were not clear/reported wrong suggesting that the witness had lied; that the witness had committed crimes of money laundering by depositing money he knew was linked to drug traffickers, etc.

This is new information that surfaced:

• The witness saw Juan Orlando Hernandez approximately 9-11 times starting in 2013.

• The witness called JOH a thief to his face when JOH visited his boss at some point. JOH just smiled and didn’t seem offended.

• The witness said that the type of cattle that was sold to his boss Jarufe was the type of cattle used by drug traffickers to transport drugs. Drugs are put inside the cattle.

• GFR was given a property by Los Cachiros which he used to plant malanga (a root vegetable)

• Witness visited the US on 3-4 occasions before staying in 2015 and requesting asylum.

  • He decided to stay in 2015 when he was visiting because he received a call from Honduras informing him that Cristian Ayala had been killed (see yesterday’s notes).

  • The defense questioned the witness about what he was receiving in exchange for his testimony including if his lawyer had asked for the US government to pay for his immigration fees.

Protected Witness Jorge Medina (pseudonym)

• From San Pedro Sula. An agricultural engineer.

• Started working at Ganaderos (Ganaderos Agricultores del Norte, S. de R.L. de C.V, a livestock company owned Los Cachiros that was sanctioned by the US Office for Foreign Assets Control in 2013) from 2007/2008 to 2012.

  • He was first based in Tocoa, Colona for 8 to 10 months and then worked in Choloma.

  • When in Choloma, he worked with Ganaderos supervising the planting of corn and rice.

Meeting Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (GFR) Through Los Cachiros

• First met GFR in 2010. Melvin Sanders (“Metro”) [deceased, GFR’s business partner referred to several times by government witness Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga on day three and day four] and Isidro Rivera (the younger brother of Javier and Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, Los Cachiros) introduced the witness to GFR. Metro was a cousin of the Rivera Maradiaga brothers.

  • First met Javier Rivera Maradiaga in approximately 2007 and 2008.

  • The witness first met Metro in late 2009 at a party for Javier Rivera Maradiaga’s daughter in a ranch in Choloma. The Valle brothers were also there. Javier, Los Valle and Metro had bodyguards with them and all were armed (with semi-automatic pistols and AR15s)

  • Government showed a picture of Melvin Sanders (“Metro”) and Yankel Rosenthal together. The witness identified them both by name.

  • The witness saw Javier Rivera Maradiaga several times. Javier usually had 2-4 people protecting him. Devis Leonel Rivera also had approx. 7 security guards and all were also armed with semi-automatic pistols and AR-15s.

• The witness first saw GFR in 2010 when he came to Choloma. Javier Rivera Maradiaga was going to rent a property to GFR and Metro so that they could plant malanga (a root vegetable)

• The witness was supposed to supervise the part of the malanga project that belonged to him. He took care of 4 properties and GFR’s malanga project/land was located approximately 5 kms away.

• The witness saw GFR 3-4 times a week.

Hearing About the Raid On the Drug Lab

• The witness had heard of the raid on the drug lab. Following the raid, he didn’t see GFR for approximately 1 to 2 months.

Business Between Isidro Rivera (brother of Los Cachiros) and GFR

• The witness learned that GFR sold rice seed to Isidro Rivera at one point when he and his workers were planting. His workers called the witness to tell him that the seed was no good.

• The witness then called Isidro Rivera and told him that the seed was useless.

• GFR then called the witness. Hew as very upset and asked why they were messing with this, to not be snitches and threatened that he was going to waste them.

• At another point, the witness learned that Isidro Rivera was selling wood chips to GFR. GFR had asked the witness to help him with the project. The witness said that Agroforestales Fuentes (GFR’s business) was paying too low a price for the wood chips (used for biomass). Isidro Rivera then told the witness that they would not keep selling the wood chips at such price.

  • In response, GFR called the witness. He was very upset and told the witness not to stick his nose where it didn’t belong, to stop being a snitch and that he was going to waste him.

• Isidro then found another company to buy the wood chips. The witness received a call from that person who had been stopped at a checkpoint. The person said that the police of Choloma attempted to seize his vehicle, but then returned it, and made him dump the load of biomass. The witness was called at a later time and told by the same person, that the load of biomass was being loaded onto a Agroforestales Fuentes vehicle.

Relationship with Businessman Fuad Jarufe Through GFR

• Granaderos closed (after the OFAC sanctions) and later, GFR told the witness that businessman Fuad Jarufe wanted to speak with him. The witness went to speak with Jarufe in approximately in mid-2012 and 2013.

• Jarufe sent a proposal to Javier Rivera Maradiaga through the witness that he (Jarufe) would provide Javier with security so that no one could touch him because Jarufe had collaborated a lot with the National Party and he could manage the situation with Juan Orlando Hernandez. This would cost Javier Rivera Maradiaga $5 million.

  • The witness spoke to Javier about that.

  • GFR called the witness again to ask him if he had communicated the proposal to Javier.

Seeing GFR with Heavy Weapons

• GFR spoke to the witness about firearms.

• At one point, GFR showed him a AR15 he owned and had in his house.

• GFR told him that the AR15 was given to him by a high-level police or military (he couldn’t remember which).

Cross-Examination by the Defense

• The witness stayed in contact with Javier Rivera Maradiaga’s wife after Javier surrendered. The witness last spoke to Javier when he pitched Jarufe’s proposal to him.

• Javier called the witness from the US asking him if he would testify about the things that he knew about Jarufe and GFR. Then Javier put him on the phone with the DEA. Despite asking him to testify, the witness assured that what he said about communication between GFR and Jarufe is true (the defense pushed him on this).

Government Witness DEA Special Agent Sandalio Gonzalez

NOTE: Various aspects of this particular testimony were hard to note because several video clips were shown quickly between questions.

• A DEA agent for approximately 21 years. A group supervisor for one of the Latin American teams on the DEA Special Operations Bilateral Investigation Unit. The Latin America teams focus on Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

Arresting GFR (The Defendant)

• Special agent Gonzalez arrested GFR on March 1, 2020 in Miami. He later conducted a post-arrest interview with him in Spanish. This interview (like in the case against Tony Hernandez) was videotaped.

Pictures and Video Clips Viewed in Court

NOTE: WATCH ONE VIDEO WITH ALL THE CLIPS HERE. Throughout the direct examination of Special Agent Gonzalez, several clips of the interview were shown in court. The agent was shown various pictures, asked to identify the person(s), and then the respective videoclip of the post-arrest video where the agent and GFR discuss the person(s) in the post-arrest interview was played for everyone in the court.

After several video clips were shown (from #1 to #15), the prosecutors along with Special Agent Gonzalez, presented emails that GFR had written since being in prison in the US as well as chats and geographical location data taken from GFR’s cell phone and GFR’s son’s ICloud account. Emails and video clips (From #16 on list above and on) were shown in a mixed manner.

1. Clip showing Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez being read his rights at a table. (The video is very similar to the angle and settings of the Tony Hernandez post-interview video)

2. The agent is shown a picture of Melvin Sanders “Metro” [GFR’s business partner, now deceased, a cousin of the Rivera Maradiaga brothers]. Clip: Agent asks GFR if he knows Melvin Sanders. GFR says he does.

3. Picture of the Cachiro brothers (Leonel and Javier). Clip: GFR says that he knew Los Cachiros but he didn’t have any business with them. He met them at parties.

4. Clip: GFR asked if he knows Graneros Nacionales. GFR said that he worked with them and that it is a rice company. Mr. Fuad Jarufe was a good friend of his and he died approximately 2 years ago at 86 years old. GFR said he had coffee with him everyday and that his daughter manages another company he has. Jarufe lent GFR money but “money through banks”

5. Clip: Agent asking GFR if he had met the Cachiros. GFR said that he met them through Melvin (“Metro). One of GFR’s sons married the daughter of one of Los Cachiros.

6. Clip: Melvin introduced GFR to Leonel Rivera Maradiaga

7. Clip: Metro had a night club on a property belonging to Fuad Jarufe in Choloma near a pharmacy and a warehouse. He went to the night club for parties and meetings

8. Clip: Javier Rivera Maradiaga went to the night club for a birthday party

9. Clip: Agent asked if GFR did business with the Cachiros. GFR responded that he had sold him 2 cars: a small car and a truck approximately 12 years ago. GFR believed the price was approximately $16,000 but couldn’t remember. He sold him the car because his father was ill. GFR was paid in cash.

10. Clip: GFR said he knew the Cachiros but he didn’t have any business with them. Last time he spoke to them was by telephone approximately 1 year before they were “extradited” [GFR’s words]. He saw Leonel last in a gas station in Omoa – the one owned by Los Cachiros.

11. Clip: Agent asked GFR if he knew of a drug lab. GFR said that they found one on Fuad’s property and that it was owned by a man from Belize. GFR went to provide testimony to authorities about it. Nothing was found in the lab. It was a property owned by Fuad Jarufe who bought it from Tavo Torres. GFR did maintenance on a coffee plantation close by. Fuad gave him the property afterwords. A “soccer official”, a council member from Choloma, lived near the property as well.

12. Clip: GFR admitted to knowing Edgar Rio “Pluto.” They had met in Choloma and GFR knew that he was a drug trafficker.

13. Clip: Agent asked GFR if he knew ‘Vaquero’ [an assassin used to commit murders for Los Cachiros]. GFR responded that Vaquero had grown up in Choloma and began working with Melvin (Metro) as security. GFR said that Vaquero had threatened one of GFR’s sons.

14. Clip: GFR admitted to knowing Chepe Handal, who he referred to as “Chepito.” They studied in a similar institution. GFR claimed that “everyone in Honduras knows him,” he was a cousin of Fuad Jarufe and owned Auto Parts Handal in San Pedro Sula.

15. Clip: GFR said he knew of the Valles but he had never met them.

16. Clip: Agent asked about whether GFR knew Leopoldo Crivelli. GFR said that he was the mayor of Choloma and had been for 4 periods. GFR admitted to giving Crivelli campaign donations of approximately 120,000 Lempiras by cheque from GFR’s company.

17. Clip: GFR admits to knowing Fabio Lobo. Ricardo Maduro was a good friend of Fuad Jarufe.

18. Clip: Agent asks about Juan Orlando Hernandez. GFR responded that JOH would visit Fuad and had gone many times to Graneros to seek support for his campaign.

19. Clip: Agent asked if Jarufe had given money to JOH’s campaign. GFR responded that Jarufe had given JOH money. That Jarufe and Fufu Canahuati coordinated the National Party in San Pedro Sula.

20. Clip: Agent asked GFR if he knew some police officers. GFR responded that he knew some. He knew Ramon Martinez who he had traveled to Orlando with last year. He knew Cruz Mendoza, Nelvin Sauceda (had met him in family gatherings), Wilson Alvarenga, Mejía Vargas (who was dismissed from the police, formerly the police chief in Choloma but was challenging his dismissal)

The government along with Special Agent Gonzalez then presented emails that GFR had written since being in prison in the US as well as chats taken from GFR’s cell phone. Emails and video clips (From #16 on list above and on) were shown in a mixed manner.

Chats and Other Data Extracted From GFR’s Phone and His Son’s ICloud Account

• A chat with Comanche (a military official) briefly discussing the murder of a lawyer linked to the Valle brothers.

• Phone records showing that GFR had Leopoldo Crivelli’s phone numbers.

• The prosecutor presented geographical location data extracted from the application Waze on GFR’s phone on the days following public filings in May and June 2019 related to the Tony Hernandez case. The data showed that:

  • GFR had been at the Presidential palace on May 29, 2019 at 10:57 am

  • GFR had been at the Presidential palace on June 12, 2019

• The prosecutor presented chats from GFR’s ICloud account between individuals shortly after public filings were made in the US case against GFR and referred to co-conspirators. The chats reveal that its participants were able to identify who the co-conspirators are.

  • One public filing was made on January 8th and another on January 11-12, 2021.

  • A chat between two of Geovanny’s sons show that they discussed CC-10 (Julio César Barahona, former member of the Judiciary council); CC-1 (Melvin Sanders or ‘Metro’, GFR’s business partner), Edgar Rios (Honduran drug trafficker known as ‘Pluto’) and CC-4 (“Juancho” or Juan Orlando Hernandez)

GFR’s Prison Emails to His Sons

• The prison emails were written between December 28, 2020 to January 8, 2021.

  • In one email, GFR is asking his son for key information he needs for his trial. He asks for facts on Gonzalez, information about a mechanic found half-buried in Choloma, and facts about Cerro Negro. He also makes reference to speaking with Comanche and Martinez. [No contextual information was given related to these emails]

  • GFR’s son responds saying he had spoken to Comanche and Martinez and was “tapping” Sauceda.

Diagram Outlining Cases Against “Defendants Brought or Arrested in SDNY”

• The chart included the following names, how the accused were brought to the Southern District of New York and the year.

  • Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga – surrendered – 2015

  • Juan Miguel Avila Meza – surrendered – 2016

  • Hector Emilio Fernandez Rosa (“Don H”) – extradited from Honduras – 2015

  • Fabio Lobo – Explusion (Haiti) – 2015

  • Victor Hugo Díaz Morales – Extradited (Guatemala) – 2017

  • Fredy Nájera – surrendered – 2018

  • Alfonso Sierra Vargas “Renteria” – surrendered - 2012

DAY SEVEN: Trial Against Honduran Drug Trafficker, Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez

What Happened Today:

• Honduran historian Darío Euraque finished on the stand

• Protected witness “Jose Sánchez” began to testify

Key Details That Surfaced:

• The protected witness heard President Juan Orlando Hernandez make several shocking statements in different meetings held in the offices of the rice company, Graneros Nacionales in Choloma, including:

  • That JOH had plans to stay in power for 25 years; had put Oscar Chinchilla as Attorney General to “protect them and to avoid charges”; and that together, Chinchilla and Mauricio Oliva (the current President of Congress) were working to amend laws in their favor.

  • JOH boasted about how he was robbing the social security funds and claimed: “we are stealing better than in Callejas times and no one can stop us.”

  • JOH said: “We are going to shove the drugs up the noses of the gringos and they won’t even know it.”

  • In a meeting with businessman Fuad Jarufe and Leopoldo Crivelli (current mayor of Choloma), JOH said: “The Honduran people are idiots, give them a piece of meat, a beer, and they will give you their vote”

• Julio Cesar Barahona, a former member of the Judiciary Council received a bribe from GFR and was instructed by “his boss” (understood to be President Juan Orlando Hernandez) to assist in cleaning up Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez’s criminal record in relation to his drug trafficking activities.

• On two occasions, GFR met with JOH in Graneros Nacionales and according to the witness, gave JOH two bribes: One for $10,000 and the second for $15,000. The witness made two copies of the videos tapes of the security cameras of one of these two meetings. He gave one to Prosecutor Marlene Banegas [murdered in October 2014] and another to Cristian Ayala [no details given about this person but could be the son of a Sub-Commissioner of the Police, Cristian Ayala Vigil, who was murdered in June 2015].

• The witness found a box in the Graneros Nacionales’s office with police vests and army and police uniforms in it. It was addressed to GFR and a label saying it was from the 105 Military Brigade, formerly commanded by Hector Orlando Ponce Fonseca (the former head of the Honduran military).

What Will Happen Tomorrow:

• Protected witness “Jose Sánchez” will continue

• Another witness will be called (possibly the second protected witness)

Picture: From Pro-Honduras Network

More Details

Protected Witness “Jose Sanchez” (a pseudonym)

• 45 years old. He lived in Honduras for 40 years before relocating to the US in 2015. He fled Honduras because he felt his life was in danger. He was a witness to two meetings between Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) and Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (GFR)

• Occupation: Accountant

• Was an employee of Graneros Nacionales for 15 years. His job was to prepare financial statements and control the company’s income and expenses.

Graneros Nacionales S.A. de C.V.

• Located in Choloma on the highway heading to Puerto Cortés.

• Fuad Jarufe Larach was the owner of Graneros Nacionales. His children also work there including Jorge Jarufe and John Jarufe (an engineer)

Bringing Money to the Graneros Nacionales’ Office

• The witness met GFR in ~2003 when Jorge Jarufe, Fuad Jarufe’s younger sons, brought him to the Graneros Nacionales office. GFR started going to Graneros Nacionales once a week. Sometimes GFR would arrive there with one other person.

• GFR would visit John Jarufe and sometimes bring money with him.

• He would bring money wrapped in rubber bands and in $20 bills totalling between $10,000 to $150,000 approximately 2 or 3 times/month.

• GFR eventually started going to the office every day but still only bring money 2 or 3 times/month.

  • The witness would receive the money, organize the bills, count it, and deposit it and then give GFR a cheque in Lempiras.

• GFR last time went into the office in approximately 2014.

• GFR spoke on the phone about Los Cachiros in the presence of the witness. He told the person he was talking to, that “he would soon get on his feet because he was going to work with Los Cachiros”

• The witness believed that “getting on his feet” meant that he was going to do financially well.

 The Cattle Truck Accident on the Highway

• A white transportation truck used to transport cattle was involved in an accident on the highway to Puerto Cortés.

• The witness went to speak with GFR’s employee following the accident, who told the witness that his boss was mad because his deal had fallen through (“se habia caido la vuelta”). According to the witness, this is a common phrase in Honduras in the type of business that GFR was involved in. The witness understood it to mean that the drugs had been seized.

• The witness saw GFR is his boss’s (Fuad jarufe) office that same day. He was upset. The witness heard him talking about Los Cachiros on the phone. At the time, Los Cachiros were “the most powerful drug trafficking gang in Honduras.”

Los Cachiros’s Business with Graneros Nacionales

• The witness met Santos Isidro Rivera Maradiaga, the youngest of the Cachiro brothers in approximately 2012 in Graneros Nacionales. When first meeting him, the witness didn’t know who he was.

  • Santos Isidro R.M. went to Graneros Nacionales to sell a load of rice. He asked the witness to prepared cheque for him. The witness got upset at this because he was eating lunch and that his lunch break wasn’t being respected [a sacred time for many in Honduras]

  • The witness prepared the cheque in his office and went to his boss’s office to get him to sign it. When he entered his boss’s office, his boss asked the witness if he knew Los Cachiros. The witness responded that he didn’t know any of them. His boss then pointed to Santos Isidro and said “that’s Cachirin” [the small Cachiro]. The witness testified that he felt scared.

• Santos Isidro came to Graneros Nacionales with GFR to sell approximately 500 cattle

  • He was paid less than 50% of the actual price (~3000 Lps) of each head. At the time a head of cattle cost approximately 7,500 Lps.

  • The witness believed it was cattle used for drug trafficking

• GFR and Santos Isidro came together to Graneros Nacionales two more times.

Delivering Money to the Drug Lab

• His boss, Fuad Jarufe, asked him on two occasions to deliver money to Cerro Negro [the location of the drug lab]. This occurred before the drug lab was raided. The drug lab was raided/discovered in 2011.

• The first time, Fuad Jarufe asked the witness to do him a favor and take the money to GFR’s property. The witness was told that the money was the payroll for GFR’s employees. It totaled 14,000 Lps. The money was packaged in a manila folder in several denominations. The Cerro Negro property was located close to the company. The witness went alone and unarmed.

  • Cerro Negro is located close to the community of La Jutosa, near Puerto Cortés and Choloma.

  • Upon arriving, a person approached the witness and asked him what he wanted. The person was dressed like “someone from the city” [in more formal attire] and armed with a semi-automatic pistol. The witness saw others in the property but from a distance. They were armed with AK47s and were dressed like people from the city. The witness told the person that approached that he brought the money. He handed him the money and left.

• The second time he visited the location of the drug lab was approximately 3 months after the first visit. His boss, Fuad Jarufe asked him to take money to GFR again for payroll.

  • The witness took 17,000 Lps packed in a manila envelop in several dominations. He went by himself.. When he arrived, the same, armed person (from the first visit) approached him and asked him what he wanted. The witness told him that he had brought the money. He turned around and left.

  • The witness saw this man in approximately 3 other occasions in Graneros Nacionales. He was with GFR and was armed.

The Raid on the Drug Lab and Meeting with Julio César Barahona (former member of the Honduran Judiciary Council)

• The witness learned of the raid of GFR’s drug lab from a TV program in 2011.

• He saw GFR approximately 30 to 40 days after the raid in the Graneros Nacionales office. It was not normal for GFR to be away from the Graneros Nacionales office for such a long period of time at that point.

• GFR was at the round table in his boss’s office when Julio Cesar Barahona arrived. According to the witness, Barahona was appointed by Juan Orlando Hernandez in his position in the judiciary.

• The witness was seated in front of his boss’s desk when Barahona entered the room and said “my boss is sending me here to help the guy any way that I can.”

  • The witness understood “the boss” to be Juan Orlando Hernandez and the “guy” to be GFR.

  • The witness understood this to mean that he was going to wipe the defendant’s record clean.

• The witness left and later, was called to make out a cheque to Barahona for 30,000 Lps from the GFR’s account. He made the cheque, took it to his boss’s office for his signature and the witness gave it to Barahona.

  • The cheque was made out to Barahona from the Graneros Nacionales’s account because GFR asked Fuad Jarufe for a loan. The witness was asked to charge the amount to GFR’s account. GFR would make sporadic payments to his account in $20 bills.

Fuad Jarufe’s Support for the National Party

• Jarufe supported the National Party and made financial contributions to politicians, particularly to JOH.

JOH’s Trips To Graneros Nacionales

• JOH would go to Graneros Nacionales “on many occasions”

• He would arrive in helicopters – a military helicopter and on two occasions, a blue helicopter. He would land on the empty lot next to his boss’s office. He arrived with his armed bodyguards and 2-3 people from Tegucigalpa.

• JOH would go to Graneros Nacionales to receive campaign contributions and for meetings at the National Party headquarters in Choloma.

• JOH received cheques for 250,000 Lps from Graneros Nacionales on a monthly basis during his Presidential campaign in 2013.

• When he was running for President in 2013, the witness saw JOH on several occasions.

Meeting With JOH at Graneros Nacionales and JOH’s Statements on Various Topics

• The witness heard JOH talk about what he would do if he won the Presidency. JOH spoke on many occasions about being untouchable.

• JOH told Fuad Jarufe that he had plans to stay in power for a minimum of 25 years and would do whatever it took to do that. But that he needed the support of the military and businessman because “the business was too good to let it go in 4 years”

• JOH mentioned Oscar Chinchilla when talking about staying in power. JOH said that he had Chinchilla in that position to protect them and to avoid charges against them.

• JOH also mentioned Mauricio Oliva (current President of Congress) when talking about staying in power. He said that Mauricio Oliva, together with Chinchilla, were working on amending the laws in their favor.

• JOH also mentioned Rafael Callejas Romero [deceased, former President of Honduras; former President of FENAFUTH (National Soccer League), accused in the US for wire fraud, etc]. The witness was in a meeting with Fuad Jarufe, JOH, and other individuals from Tegucigalpa. He heard JOH boasting about how he was robbing the social security funds and other funds and said “we are stealing better than in Callejas times and no one can stop us.”

• The witness saw Leopoldo Crivelli (nickname: Polo), the current mayor of Choloma in Fuad Jarufe’s office with JOH when JOH was running for President. The conversation was outlined as such:

  • At the round table, JOH said “so Polo are you going to run again or what?”

  • Polo responded: “Don’t be a fool, the Honduran people have opened their eyes.

  • JOH responded: “The Honduran people are idiots, give them a piece of meat, a beer, and they will give you their vote” as he smiled.

First Meeting between JOH and GFR in Graneros Nacionales

• First meeting occurred when JOH was running for the Presidency. The meeting took place at the round table in Fuad Jarufe’s office in Graneros Nacionales. Attendees: Jarufe, JOH, GFR, and witness.

  • Jarufe informed witness that JOH would be coming in the afternoon and that JOH wanted to “buy dollars from them.” JOH arrived in a military helicopter. The witness was going to receive the dollars and change them into Lempiras.

  • The witness entered the office and was told to sit and wait. He sat on the blue couch across from the round table. He was approximately 1 to 1.5 meters from JOH. He immediately felt fear because he was witnessing a Presidential candidate meeting with a drug trafficker (referring to GFR).

  • GFR addressed JOH as “Juancho,” a name used only by those that were close to JOH. In the meeting, JOH said he was interested in having GFR and his drug lab work for him (JOH).

  • JOH told GFR that he shouldn’t worry about the law because Oscar Chinchilla was there to protect them and that shipments of drugs would go through different routes and will be protected by military and police. JOH said that by the time the US knew the truth, they would have modified the laws in their favor and that Oscar Chinchilla and Mauricio Oliva were working on this and they would be untouchable.

  • JOH then took a sip of his drink and said: “we are going to shove the drugs up the noses of the gringos and they won’t even know it.”

  • The witness understood “amend laws” to mean that they would modify the law so that they wouldn’t be charged and would get rid of extradition.

  • JOH mentioned his brother, Tony Hernandez in this meeting. He said that he would give GFR Tony’s cell phone number and he would be at his disposal. GFR should follow Tony Hernandez’s instructions to transport drugs.

  • GFR then took out his briefcase and gave $15,000 in $20 bills to JOH. JOH then handed them to the witness. GFR said that the money was to support JOH’s campaign. JOH wanted the money in cash.

• There was a second meeting between JOH and GFR. In the morning, the witness’s boss called to let him know that JOH would be arriving to exchange dollars for Lempiras. The witness saw JOH and GFR in his boss’s office talking at the round table. He entered the office and sat down to wait on the blue couch.

  • They were talking about politics. GFR took a bunch of $20 out of his briefcase and gave them to JOH. GFR told him that it was to help with his campaign.

  • The witness counted it and organized it. It totaled $10,000.

Videos of the Meetings Between JOH and GFR

• There were security cameras inside Graneros Nacionales.

• One of the meetings between JOH and GFR was filmed. The witness got a copy of the video of their second meeting (above) as well as the other meeting where JOH spoke about stealing from social security.

• He obtained a copy of the video when John Jarufe, who was in charge of the cameras, gave him the pin number for the cameras.

• He made two copies of each of the two videos. He gave the copies to:

  • Prosecutor Marlene Banegas [murdered in October 2014]: She was given the copy of the video of JOH talking about stealing from social security

  • Cristian Ayala [no details given about this person but could be the son of Sub-Commissioner, Cristian Ayala Vigil, murdered in June 2015]: He was given a copy of the video of GFR meeting with JOH

• The witness was unable to get a copy of the 1st meeting between JOH and GFR. He could not find it.

GFR Mentions Ex-Honduran Police Commissioner Leonel Sauceda and his brother, Nelvin Sauceda

• GFR told the witness to write down Leonel Sauceda’s [in prison in Honduras on money laundering charges] phone number in case anything was needed while the witness’s boss, Fuad Jarufe was on ha trip to the US for a medical check-up

• The witness saw GFR with Sub-Commissioner, Nelvin Sauceda [in December 2019, Sauceda was named the director of the maximum-security prison in Siria] in Jarufe’s office.

Box of Military and Police Gear for GFR

• The witness found a medium-sized cardboard box in his boss’s office in 2014. He opened it and took it into his own office thinking that it was some stationary that he had ordered.

• The witness discovered that there were police vests and military and police uniforms inside. There was a piece of paper inside saying it was for GFR and something (unclear) that said ‘105 Brigade’ (the infantry brigade located in San Pedro Sula). The witness closed the box and put it back in its place.

• At the time, Hector Ponce Fonseca was head of the 105 Brigade.

Weapons in GFR’s Vehicle

• The witness got into GFR’s car on one occasion to go and pick up payroll money. There were no body guards in Graneros Nacionales so he went in GFR’s car along with GFR and his driver.

• The witness sat in the front passenger seat. He saw a lot of weapons in the car. The driver had a shotgun at the door, a semi-automatic on his legs and an AK47 by the stick shift.

• GFR got into the car and showed the witness a military grade, olive green weapon. He pulled it out from under the seat and said: “I hope someone crosses my path so I can debut this little toy that my friend gave me.” The witness understood “the friend” to be someone in the military

• The witness also saw GFR carrying a green weapon while in Monte Rey at his boss’s ranch. 

Last Contact With GFR

• When the witness left Graneros Nacionales, GFR had 480,000 Lempiras in several accounts.

• The witness last saw GFR in 2015 during Easter week in the Puerto Cortés Sailing Club. GFR was boarding his yacht and was with individuals armed with semi-automatic pistols.