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Narcos Honduras Trial Fuentes Guilty of
Drugs and Guns Charges JOH Implicated
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Song Filing
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 22 – Honduras President
Juan Orlando Hernandez took a
briefcase of cash and said he
would stuff drugs up the noses
of the gringos, a jury was
told on March 16. On March 22
they found defendant Geovanny
Fuentes-Ramirez guilty on
drugs and machine guns
charges.
Inner City Press
live tweeted the beginning,
morning here
and then the afternoon, about
the video(s), here.
And, on March 22,
the end game, here:
10: 47 am:
Something is afoot. The
Marshals have brought Fuentes
out of the holding cell. AUSAs
on their way (Judge Castel's 8
minute rule). Unlike other
days, Fuentes looks alert,
looking all around. One might
say "worried" but with mask,
hard to tell.
OK - Judge Castel
just came to the bench. "Here
we have electronic exhibits.
With paper exhibits, an index
not as needed: the jury could
thumb through. On Friday, the
defense objected to exhibits
going on. Now jury wants the
exhibits." Why is defense
objecting?
Defense withdraws
its objection. 'Madame Deputy,
please arrange for index to go
in." We're adjourned for now.
So, jury has asked for
exhibits and index, which on
Friday Fuentes' lawyers
objected to going in to the
jury room, at least until the
jurors asked for it.
Update of
12 noon: Again, Geovanny
Fuentes is brought back into
the courtroom. Judge
Castel: We have a note from
the jury, What is the source
of Exhibit 613. Is there an
agreement on the response?
AUSA: The answer is that the
record does not identify the
source
Judge
Castel: Then how did it get
into evidence? AUSA: It was
shown to Mr. Rivera, a gun
like one he'd seen the
defendant with.
Update of 1:12
pm: Geovanny Fuentes has been
brought out again, the AUSAs
are at the prosecution
table. Judge
Castel: The beginning of his
testimony about the
conversation of the defendant
and Hernandez [JOH] regarding
protection and transportation
AUSA: We have
agreed on what to send in,
without colloquy. Judge
Castel: OK, we'll prepare to
send it in to the jury room.
We are adjourned. Thread will
continue.
Update of
2:34 pm - in #NarcosHonduras
trial, it looks like we have a
verdict. Judge Castel just
said, "Bring the jury up."
And, "Do you have a copy of
the verdict sheet?" Get ready.
While we
await the arrival of the jury
in the courtroom (slowed by
COVID protocols), and the
verdict sheet is not yet read
out loud, this song (which
will be updated either way)
Honduras Narco-Government
Blues, here.
OK - it's on.
Judge
Castel (reading note) "Judge,
we have reached a verdict"...
Please stand.
Count 1,
Has the government shown? Yes.
Guilty. Count 2: Machine guns:
Guilty.
Count 3:
Conspiracy to possess machine
guns. Guilty. Destructive
device? No.
Judge Castel:
Poll the jury. All
agree.
The question
remains: Does the right to
access to Federal court
proceedings extend to
listen-only telephone lines,
in the time of COVID and
beyond? Should it?
The
question has been further
raised in the ongoing Honduras
narco-trafficking case US v.
Geovanny Fuentes, which Inner
City Press has been covering
in-person in the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York, where it
is "in-house press."
On
the morning of March 13, Inner
City Press filed a challenge
to the cut-off of audio access
to the US v. Fuentes trial,
citing the First Amendment,
COVID and real-world politics,
see here
and below.
Late on
the evening of March 14, the
US Attorney's Office filed a
three page letter into the
docket, specifically arguing
the the call-in line be
eliminated for two entire
Witnesses and everything they
say. US Attorney's Office's
letter, now uploaded on Inner
City Press' DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City
Press has immediately
responded in opposition, here,
stating among other things
that "the US Attorney's Office
seeks to specifically ban
public access to two of their
Witnesses, while saying that a
transcript would be available
at some unspecified date
afterwards. Given that the
Office has yet to unseal
improperly redacted portions
of their filings, there is
little reason to have
confidence in the speed of
transcription, or that such
transcripts would not be too
expensive for the public or
media.
Inner City Press
after its first filing waited
nine hours, including this song,
here, to report about
it. Full first letter on Inner
City Press' DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City
Press itself obeys all
existing rules and is grateful
for the additional access as
in-house media (particularly
since it is banned
from covering the UN, which
now Constitutional rights such
as the First Amendment exist).
But others
have rights too - including
journalists and regular
citizens of Honduras. If the
SDNY prosecutors are going to
exercises essentially
universal jurisdiction for any
wire transfer that passes
through lower Manhattan, how
ever briefly, they should not
oppose access to their trials
by those impacted, for better
and worse.
Judge Castel is a
good judge, in Inner City
Press' experience. When
petitioned he has ordered the
unsealing of certain court
documents, in a North Korea crypto-currency
conference case and the tech /
child sex sentencing
of Peter Bright former of
ArsTechnica, both of which
Inner City Press covered and requested.
And Judge Castel is certainly
in the mainstream in his March
12 psoition. But should it be
rethought? Is there a right?
Should there be? Watch this
site.
The case is US v. Diaz, 15-cr-379
(Castel).
***
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