Thread by @innercitypress

OK - #NarcosHonduras trial, Day 5 of testimony, now "Witness-1" for whom the US Attorney's Office demanded cut of the call-in line, is on the stand. Pending the transcripts they said would be quickly available (where?), Inner City Press will live tweet, below

AUSA: Did you see other individuals on the defendant's property at Cerro Negro that day? How were they dressed?
Witness-1: Como personas de la ciudad [Like city people]

Witness-1: I have them the money, and I pulled back from the property.
AUSA: Focusing on the 2d time you delivered money to Cerro Negro, how long after the 1st time was it?
W1: 3 months.
AUSA: Who asked you to go there?
W1: Mi jefe.

Judge Castel: We'll take our mid-morning break. Juror Number 1, if you don't mind remaining behind for a moment.

Judge Castel (to Juror # 1, we are not describing the juror): So what's going on?
[Answer]
Judge Castel: Am I correct this was not on the record during jury selection? I said the trial was expected to last 2 weeks. I don't believe this was brought to my attention

Judge Castel: When I was in college, if I missed a class, I got the notes from someone else. But jury service is not like that. This would stop it for all jurors. Another juror has a commitment the week after. Shutting it down Friday would extend it for everyone

Juror 1: Understood.
Judge Castel: Thank you very much. We are all in this together. I appreciate it, and I know the parties do too.

Judge Castel is back, he asks if the parties object to him doing a sentencing while this jury is empaneled.
AUSAs say they want time to check back in the office.
Fuentes' lawyer: In MCC jail they intend to move him, for God knows what reason.

Judge Castel tells AUSA to look into. Says trial -- apparently still without call-in line - will start late tomorrow.
AUSA: Mr. Sanchez, who is this (Exhibit 315)
Witness-1: Julio Cesar Barahona.

AUSA: And when they referred to "the Boss," who did you understand it to be?
Fuentes' lawyer: Objection!
Judge Castel: I'll allow it.
Witness-1: Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Witness-1: I made out the check, my boss signed it, and I gave it to Julio Cesar Barahona.
AUSA: What did you think "Help the fellow out" meant?
Witness-1 (after objection overruled): To help Geovanny Fuentes.

AUSA: While Juan Orlando Hernandez was running for president, for what purpose would he could to Graneros?
Witness-1: For campaign support.
AUSA: How did he receive campaign contributions?
Witness-1: As a check from Graneros.
AUSA: Who gave him the checks?
W1: Me

AUSA: How much did he get every months?
W1: 250,000 Lempiras.
AUSA: Did you see him talking with Fuad Jarufe?
W1: Yes.
AUSA: Did Juan Orlando Hernandez say what he would do when he became president?
W1: He said, We will be untouchable.

AUSA: Beyond the business-owners, who did Juan Orlando Hernandez say would support him?
W1: The military.
AUSA: Show Government Exhibit 318
Defense: No objection.
W2: It's Juan Orlando Hernandez... and "Chinchia"

AUSA: Did you see Leopoldo Crivelli with Juan Orlando Hernandez?
W1: Yes. He is called "Polo."
AUSA: What did Juan Orlando Hernandez say?
W1: Los Hondurenos son pendejos.

AUSA: Were you present for meetings between the defendant and Juan Orlando Hernandez?
W1: Yes.
AUSA: Where was the 1st one?
W1: In the office of my boss in Graneros. My boss told me in the morning, "Viene Juan Orlando hoy."

AUSA: What did you see there?
W1: A military helicopter.
AUSA: Where did the meeting happen?
W1: At the round table.
AUSA: Why were you there?
W1: There were dollars to be transferred. Present were Juan Orlando Hernandez and the defendant

AUSA: When you arrived, where was Juan Jarufe?
W1: Round table (mesa redonda).
AUSA: Where were Juan Orlando Hernandez and the defendant?
W1: En la mesa redonda. I sat on the blue chair, about a meter or meter and a half from them.

AUSA: What was your reaction to seeing them together?
W1: Temor. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
AUSA: Why were you afraid?
W1: I was seeing a candidate for president with a narco-trafficker, together.
Defense: Objection!
Judge Castel: Overruled.

AUSA: How did the defendant address Juan Orlando Hernandez?
Witness-1: Juancho.
AUSA: Did you call him Juancho?
Witness-1: No.

Witness-1 (narrative) Juan Orlando Hernandez said, By the time the Americans become aware, we'll be untouchable. We'll put drugs up the noses of the gringos and they won't even be aware of it [dar se cuenta]

AUSA: What did gringos refer to?
Witness-1: The North American people.
AUSA: You mentioned amending the law, what'd you mean by that?
Fuentes' lawyer: Objection!
Judge Castel: What did you understand those referring to amending to mean?
W1: Eliminating extradition.

AUSA: Do you know who Tony Hernandez is?
W1: The brother of Juan Orlando Hernandez.
AUSA: What did Juan Orlando Hernandez say about Tony?
W1: That the defendant should follow the instructions of Tony Hernandez, in the drug business.

AUSA: Did the defendant have anything with him?
Witness-1: Un maletin / a briefcase.
AUSA: Did he open it? When?
W1: When Juan Orlando Hernandez said he would put the drugs in the noses of the gringos, then the briefcase was opened. It was full of dollars.

Witness-1: The defendant gave it to Juan Orlando Hernandez. He said, Para que te ayuda con la compana / so that it helps you with the campaign.

AUSA: What did Juan Orlando Hernandez do with it?
Witness-1: He gave it to me and said, Jose, cambia lo. I said, En nombre que quien quiere el cheque? Then I counted it, on the round table. Juan Orlando Hernandez was there.

AUSA: What was Juan Orlando Hernandez doing?
W1: Tomando un trago y chequeando su celular
(Having a drink and checking his phone).

Judge Castel: We'll take a lunch break. Don't discuss the case.
Stories & podcast momentarily, and more on patreon.com/MatthewRussell…

OK - during the lunch break ran and wrote this: #SDNY Jury Hears That #Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez Took Cash and Said He'd Put Drugs Up Gringos' Noses, As DOJ Gets Call-in Line Cut For Witness-1 Testimony innercitypress.com/sdnylive8hondu… Now they've back

AUSA: What were they talking about, at the round table?
Witness-1: Politics. The defendant took more money out, in twenties. He said, to help with your campaign.
AUSA: How much was there?
W1: Diez mil. ($10,000)

AUSA: Who is this? (Showing exhibit)
Witness-1: Leonel Sauceda, head of the national police... My boss was going to the US for a medical check up, he took Sauceda's number with him, and the defendant's.

AUSA: The time you were in the defendant's car, why were you there?
Witness-1: I needed the payroll list, and there were no bodyguards to take me there.
AUSA: Why did you need bodyguards?
Witness-1: For the quantity of money I had to pick up.

AUSA: Did you get into the car? Who else was in it?
Witness-1: The driver and the defendant. I saw many weapons (muchas armas). The driver had un escopeta. There was an AK-47.

AUSA: What did the defendant say about the weapon?
Witness-1: He said, Ojala we get the chance to use this, what my friends gave me.
AUSA: Who did you take him to mean?
Fuentes' lawyer: Objection!
Judge Castel: I'll allow it.
Witness-1: Militares (military/ies)

AUSA: How did it come to be that you made videos?
Witness-1: The guy who usually did it had to leave. So he gave me the key to do it.
AUSA: How many copies did you make?
Witness-1: Two.

AUSA: We're talking about a video of the second meeting between the defendant and Juan Orlando Hernandez?
Witness-1: Yes. I looked for video of the first meeting, but I could not find it.

AUSA: When you left Graneros, did the defendant have an outstanding balance with the company?
Witness-1: Yes, over 400,000 lempiras, over several accounts.
AUSA: Was that a lot, or a little?
W1: Era bastante dinero (it was pretty much money)

AUSA: When did you last see the defendant?
Witness-1: 2015, en la semana santa. He was with his yacht, big and bonito. He had bodyguards armed with semi automatics.
[Microphone is cleaned]
Judge Castel: We start at 10:30 am (a juror is getting second vaccine shot)

Now the cross examination, by Fuentes' lawyer.
Fuentes' lawyer: Good afternoon Mr. Sanchez. We've never met?
Witness-1: No, we have not.
Fuentes' lawyer: But you prepared this testimony with the prosecutors, correct?
W1: Correcto.

Fuentes' lawyer: So Mr Jarufe let National Party officials have meetings at Graneros' offices?
Witness-1: Yes.
Fuentes' lawyer: For example, Juan Orlando Hernandez, when he was running for president, he'd come to Graneros and meet businesspeople, yes?
W1: Yes.

Fuentes' lawyer: And Juan Orlando Hernandez would solicit campaign contributions, yes?
Witness-1: Yes.
Fuentes' lawyer: You did not like Juan Orlando Hernandez, correct?
Witness-1: No, not after I heard him laughing at the Honduran people.

Fuentes' lawyer: So when you met with the US agents in 2019, you told them about a meeting you witnessed between the defendant and Juan Orlando Hernandez, correct?
Witness-1: Yes.
[If true, the US has had this info since 2019]

Now Fuentes' lawyer is having Witness-1 read a piece of discovery, 3500 material; the interpreter is translating it for the witness.
Fuentes' lawyer: Does this refresh your recollection?
Witness-1: No.

Fuentes' lawyer: You say you heard Juan Orlando Hernandez talking about stealing from the Honduran Social Security system, but the defendant was not there?
Witness-1: Right.
Fuentes' lawyer: And you say you gave Juan Orlando Hernandez a check?
W1: Yes.

Fuentes' lawyer: You called Juan Orlando Hernandez a thief?
Witness-1: Yes. In 2013. Before he was President.
Fuentes' lawyer: Who was there?
Witness-1: My boss, Juan Orlando, & 2 more National Party officials.
Fuentes' lawyer: Do you know their names?
W1: No.

Witness-1: I was stopped from going into the room by guards. They said, Do you know who's in there? I said, yes, Un ladron.
Fuentes' lawyer: Did you say it to his face?
Witness-1: Yes. They asked and I told them what I had said. Juan Orlando Hernandez laughed.

Witness-1: Juan Orlando Hernandez held out his hand but I did not shake it... In Honduras some say they prefer that people say "Ahi va el ladron que Ayi va el pendejo."

Fuentes' lawyer: You have told this jury you saw the president of your country talking about going into business with a drug trafficker, correct?
Witness-1: He wasn't president yet.

Fuentes' lawyer: Let's talk about you. No one directed you to lie on the form that you completed at the bank, right?
Witness-1: Yes. Because I had to deposit the money.

Judge Castel: Ladies and gentleman, let's take our afternoon break.
(Cross examination of Witness-1 will continue)

They're back.
Fuentes' lawyer: .. Saying it was the safest place in Chaloma doesn't mean it was a safe place.
Witness-1: It was pretty safe.
Fuentes' lawyer: You say you learned about the raid on the finca on TV?
W1: Yes.

Fuentes' lawyer: You're not an expert on how drug dealers talk?
Witness-1: No, I am not.
Fuentes' lawyer: But you interpreted what the worker of Mr. Fuentes said as being a reference to a drug deal, right? Later you met Santos Rivera Maradiaga at Graneros, right?

Witness-1: Yes.
Fuentes' lawyer: For then, you associated Los Cachiros with Leonel and Javier - but not their youngest brother Santos Isidro, right?
W1: Correct.

Fuentes' lawyer: You didn't object to Graneros buying rice from the youngest of the Rivera brothers, right?
Witness-1: No, they had their carnet.
Fuentes' lawyer: You had no knowledge Santos Isidro was involved in drug trafficking, correct?

Fuentes' lawyer: Now as to Juan Orlando Hernandez - he had no idea of your views on drug trafficking, right? And yet he spoke right in front of you and didn't say, "Mr. Sanchez, you better not disclose this," right?
Witness-1: Correct.

Fuentes' lawyer: Did you ever tell your boss about what you heard Juan Orlando Hernandez say?
Witness-1: No. But I told others.
Fuentes' lawyer: You say Mr. Fuentes Ramirez took out $15,000 and gave it to Juan Orlando Hernandez, right?
W1: Correcto.

Fuentes' lawyer: You told us on direct that there came a point in time that you went to the Graneros video machines to look for the videos of the meetings involving Juan Orlando Hernandez, correct?
Witness-1: Yes.

Fuentes' lawyer: And the first meeting you searched for was the meeting in which Juan Orlando Hernandez spoke of stealing from the Social Security system?
Witness-1: It didn't allow me to search that way.
Fuentes' lawyer: But you knew when the meeting happened.

Judge Castel: Ladies and gentlemen, we'll pick up tomorrow morning, a bit later than usual. You can fill out your menus for lunch.

Yesterday after the jury left, Judge Castel issued his oral order cutting the public call-in line. (Again, he's been pro-openness in NorthKorea crypto & Peter Bright cases). Today he simply said, "Have a good evening."
Inner City Press will have more on this