{"id":6253,"date":"2020-10-08T04:59:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T04:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/"},"modified":"2021-01-13T19:36:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T19:36:59","slug":"could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/","title":{"rendered":"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jeff Ernst<\/p>\n

When Yani Rosenthal – a former legislator who served nearly three years in a U.S federal prison for money laundering connected to drug trafficking – arrived home to Honduras in August, he got a hero\u2019s welcome.<\/p>\n

A crowd of reporters rushed forwards with cameras and microphones, and a caravan of fans shouted, cried and waved red flags emblazoned with his name in white.<\/p>\n

Rosenthal – the scion of what was once one of the most rich and powerful families in the country – is now preparing to launch a bid for the presidency as Honduras kicks off its campaign season ahead of a crucial 2021 election. The move is raising eyebrows both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for the gringos, it\u2019s inconceivable that there are people in Honduras thinking I might be the candidate [for president],\u201d said Rosenthal, in aninterview with a local television station.<\/a><\/p>\n

But in a country where the current president, Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, faces serious allegations of drug trafficking himself, the idea that Rosenthal could pull off such a feat isn\u2019t that far-fetched.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople here have lived with the phenomenon of drug trafficking,\u201d said Edmundo Orellana, a former attorney general who supported Rosenthal in the past. \u201cThey have complied with, coexisted with and even benefitted from the drug kingpins, who were widely known, respected and sought after by society.\u201d<\/p>\n

At its peak, roughly a third of the cocaine consumed in the U.S.<\/a> \u2013 a market valued in the tens of billions of dollars \u2013 transited through Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sustained the economy,\u201d said Orellana. \u201cEveryone knew it.\u201d In particular, it made the rich like Rosenthal richer. It also made Honduras one of the most dangerous countries in the world and forced countless numbers of its citizens to migrate north.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Rosenthal<\/a>, his father, a cousin and their vast business empire. At the time, the Rosenthal family owned a bank, soccer club, newspaper and meatpacking plant while acting as kingmakers in the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were untouchable in Honduras until the accusations by the United States,\u201d said Ismael Zepeda, an economist at the Honduran thinktank FOSDEH.<\/p>\n

Some of their businesses were used to launder money for multiple drug trafficking organizations, including the infamous Cachiros, according to U.S. authorities. Following the sanctions, Honduran authorities moved to quickly seize much of the Rosenthal\u2019s empire, which is now the subject of a high-stakes, billion-dollar lawsuit<\/a> filed by the family against the government to recuperate its assets. Should they win, the government could end up owing the Rosenthals the equivalent of nearly ten percent of its annual budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be paid at the cost of reductions in healthcare, infrastructure, salaries and more,\u201d said Zepeda.<\/p>\n

The Cachiros, led by brothers Javier and Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, were cattle runners turned drug smugglers<\/a> who operated along the north coast of Honduras. They were sanctioned by the U.S Treasury<\/a> in 2013, leading them to become informants for the U.S\u2019s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Two years later, the Cachiros turned themselves in, bringing with them secretly taped recordings and confessing to a slew of crimes, including a role in at least 78 murders.<\/p>\n

According to Rosenthal, the Cachiros became a client of his family\u2019s meatpacking plant in the early 90s. But it wasn\u2019t until 2008, after he had left a cabinet post in government, that he found out they were drug traffickers, he claimed.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI should have cut him off then,\u201d said Rosenthal. \u201cI allowed him to continue selling cattle to the meatpacker for five more years.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the secret had been out since at least 2003 when the Cachiros staged a violent takeover of what was then known as the Atlantic Cartel. The cattle, according to prosecutors and their star witnesses, the Cachiros, were purchased with drug proceeds in order to launder money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he was sanctioned by [the treasury], I found out and immediately cut him off as a client,\u201d said Rosenthal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yani Rosenthal served time in a U.S federal prison on a charge connected to the drug trade, but now wants to run for president back home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[231],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articulos"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCould an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yani Rosenthal served time in a U.S federal prison on a charge connected to the drug trade, but now wants to run for president back home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Diaz Reus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-08T04:59:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-13T19:36:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vice-world-News.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"adpptv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Escrito por\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"adpptv\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"adpptv\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5ae8f6489baef735a4aac7ae8bea6e3d\"},\"headline\":\"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-08T04:59:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-13T19:36:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":686,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/Vice-world-News.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Art\u00edculos\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/\",\"name\":\"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/Vice-world-News.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-08T04:59:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-13T19:36:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5ae8f6489baef735a4aac7ae8bea6e3d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/Vice-world-News.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/Vice-world-News.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/home-espanol\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/\",\"name\":\"Diaz Reus\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5ae8f6489baef735a4aac7ae8bea6e3d\",\"name\":\"adpptv\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/diazreus.com\\\/es\\\/author\\\/adpptv\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?","og_description":"Yani Rosenthal served time in a U.S federal prison on a charge connected to the drug trade, but now wants to run for president back home.","og_url":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/","og_site_name":"Diaz Reus","article_published_time":"2020-10-08T04:59:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-13T19:36:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vice-world-News.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"adpptv","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Escrito por":"adpptv","Tiempo de lectura":"3 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/"},"author":{"name":"adpptv","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae8f6489baef735a4aac7ae8bea6e3d"},"headline":"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?","datePublished":"2020-10-08T04:59:59+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-13T19:36:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/"},"wordCount":686,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vice-world-News.jpg","articleSection":["Art\u00edculos"],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/","url":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/","name":"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vice-world-News.jpg","datePublished":"2020-10-08T04:59:59+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-13T19:36:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae8f6489baef735a4aac7ae8bea6e3d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vice-world-News.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vice-world-News.jpg","width":960,"height":640},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/could-an-ex-money-launderer-for-drug-traffickers-be-the-next-president-of-honduras\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/home-espanol\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Could an Ex-Money Launderer For Drug Traffickers Be the Next President of Honduras?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/","name":"Diaz Reus","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae8f6489baef735a4aac7ae8bea6e3d","name":"adpptv","sameAs":["https:\/\/diazreus.com"],"url":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/author\/adpptv\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6253"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8871,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6253\/revisions\/8871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diazreus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}