Honduras will continue extradition treaty with the U.S., says Parliament speaker

Tegucigalpa.- Honduras will continue with the extradition treaty it maintains with the U.S., the new president of the Parliament of the Central American country, Tomás Zambrano, informed this Sunday at the installation of the plenary session of that branch of the State for the 2026-2030 period, after the outgoing Government ordered the suspension of the agreement in August 2024, although this month it reversed the decision. “The new government that is going to enter will continue with extradition in the country and here we say it, from this Congress, that extradition agreement with our main ally and brother United States,” Zambrano, from the National Party, underlined in his message of installation of the new session period of the Honduran Parliament, which had the public support of the American president, Donald Trump, in the past elections. He added that from Parliament “we are going to protect the extradition treaty so that in the future another Government does not come and, for other interests, wants to eliminate extradition. We are going to have to give that protection to extradition so that it is not only for four, but lasts as many years as are necessary.”

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Criticism for suspension of the treaty

On the 10th, the outgoing president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, announced that she was lifting the suspension of the Extradition Treaty with the United States, which she had ordered on August 28, 2024, thus showing her government’s “commitment” to the fight against drug trafficking. While making the announcement, he pointed out the “serious contradiction” of the United States pardoning “someone who was convicted of drug trafficking,” as happened with former President Juan Orlando Hernández, since “this weakens and endangers joint efforts to confront this scourge.” While making the announcement, he pointed out the “serious contradiction” of the United States pardoning “someone who was convicted of drug trafficking,” as happened with former President Juan Orlando Hernández, since “this weakens and endangers joint efforts to confront this scourge.” On August 28, 2024, Castro denounced the extradition treaty with the United States, which dates back to 1912.

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Then, the president, who will conclude her term next Tuesday, pointed out that “the interference and interventionism of the United States, as well as its intention to direct the policy of Honduras through its Embassy and other representatives, is intolerable”.

Election Results and the Extradition Treaty

Castro made the unilateral declaration to withdraw from the Extradition Treaty after the then-U.S. ambassador to Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, expressed her country’s concern about the meeting of Honduran Defense authorities with the sanctioned Venezuelan Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López. On February 18, 2025, after receiving much criticism for having suspended the Extradition Treaty with Washington, the president informed that she had “reached an agreement with the new administration of the United States so that the Extradition Treaty – which would expire on February 28 of that year – continues with the necessary safeguards for the State of Honduras, guaranteeing its objective application”.

It was expected that the issue of the Extradition Treaty would be taken up again from that date, if the general elections of last November 30 had been won by the presidential candidate of the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre, left), Rixi Moncada, who was relegated to third place in the elections, according to the official results of the National Electoral Council (CNE). The elections were won by the presidential candidate of the conservative National Party, Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura, publicly supported by Trump.