Narcos Honduras Defense Closing Says Leo Is Lying, US Again Cites JOH, Now Jury Back Monday
It seems the jury might have stayed later to deliberate but the Long Island Rail Road scheduled cuts had an impact on #NarcosHonduras case. #AllPoliticsIsLocal
By Matthew Russell Lee, PatreonSongFiling
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 19 – 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. The audio call-in line, at the demand of the prosecutors was cut off during that testimony (then turned back on later).
But Inner City Press live tweeted it, morning here and then the afternoon, about the video(s), here.
On March 19, the US Attorney's Office closing argument said that Juan Orlando Hernandez wanted to trafficking drugs, offered to help the defendant re-open his drug lab in Cerro Negro and was in his phone. It was assisted by Commissioner Martinez, trained by the UN which refuses to answer and bans the Press. Inner City Press live tweeted the US closing, here. Podcast here.
Next, the defense gave its closing ("Leo [Rivera] is lying") and the US its rebuttal. Judge Castel read his instructions and the jury went to begin deliberate. It went barely back 5 (a defense lawyer said he had to catch last Long Island Rail Road train) and will resume Monday at 9 am. Inner City Press live tweeted, here:
Fuentes' lawyer is trashing Leonel Rivera, calling his despicable and with a bad memory. "Leo is lying."
Now Fuentes' lawyer is questioning Sanchez' testimony that he went and found the video of Juan Orlando Hernandez bragging of stealing from the social security system....
Fuentes' lawyer: Guns are legal in many parts of the US and people are proud of them and have photos of them on their phones. Put to rest the emojis of the sapos, the frogs. Even if it were to mean snitch, the father is in prison, the son is mad, right?
Fuentes' lawyer, to jurors: This is the last time I get to talk to you. Geovanny is confident you will find the government has failed to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Thank you.
US rebuttal summation by AUSA Gutwillig: The defense just told you about the nightmare of the defendant when he was arrested. But he caused a nightmare with his drugs, and by corrupting his own country. I'm not going to talk about how guns are like dogs...
AUSA: Yes, Jose Sanchez was scared. He came in here and testified against the president of his country, conspiring to bring drugs into the US.
AUSA: The defendant not only had on his phone the personal cell phone of the president, Juan Orlando Hernandez - as the Tony Hernandez trial came out with evidence against JOH, he searched for driving instructions to the Casa Presidencial
AUSA: The DEA couldn't just go down and get evidence in Honduras - "Honduras is run by Juan Orlando Hernandez, one of the defendants co-conspirators." AUSA: The video you heard about (of JOH talking about stealing from social security, and with the Defendant), don't you think we would have shown it if we had it? The argument that we are withholding it is absurd.
AUSA: These were just the only two meetings Jose Sanchez saw. Geovanny Fuentes told Leo Rivera, in the MCC (Jail), that he bribes Juan Orlando Hernandez. Take a look at the driving instruction information to see when. This is not a complicated case, not a close one
AUSA: This is a horrific story, and it is a simple one. Find the defendant guilty.
Judge Castel: You may retire for lunch. Do not discuss the case. You have not heard my instructions on the law.
[Later] Judge Castel is finishing up his instructions. We have the exhibits loaded. Discuss and weight your views, and adopt a conclusion that in your good conscience appears to be in accord with the evidence and the law.
Judge Castel: That concludes my instructions. Please stand and stretch while I consult with the lawyers at the sidebar. [Then] Jurors 14, 15 and 16, you may leave. But still do not discuss the case: you are on call to be recalled if necessary. [Alternates]
Deputy Marshal is sworn in; jurors are heading out to the jury room. Judge Castel (to the lawyers) You need to be within eight minutes of this courtroom. Judge Castel praises the lawyers, and adjourns. The waiting begins.
For those asking, the two defense lawyers remain waiting at their table. Geovanny Fuentes is waiting in the holding cell. Earlier, he was twiddling his thumbs like in the post-arrest interview video. There was a moment when all the lawyers, but not him, stood up
Update of 4:42 pm - it appears there is a jury note; the deputy has handed a piece of paper to the defense lawyers. The one who came in on Long Island Railroad says he has to leave to 5:20 to get home. #MTAcuts
Explanation: #MTAcuts means: due to recent budget and schedule cuts by the Metropolitan Transit Authority / Long Island Railroad, request by jury in Honduras drug trafficking case to stay late will be limited to 5:40 or even 5:20, for lawyer to catch train
That is to say, All politics is local. Now the prosecutors are back. So the jury note should be official read out loud by Judge Castel shortly.
Judge Castel has still not announced it, but defense lawyer is saying, it's great, jury is leaving and we can leave. Now he's negotiating for later start on Monday. Who knew the Long Island Railroad schedule would paly a role in #NarcosHonduras?
Update: While still no official announcement, Inner City Press understands that jury will be coming back in on Monday not at 9:30 but rather 9 am.
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).
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.