Hondurasgate Leak Exposes Israel’s Role in Drug Trafficking and Election Meddling in Colombia

The explosive “Hondurasgate” scandal just blew the lid off a covert operation involving Israel, the Trump administration, and former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, a convicted drug trafficker. Audio recordings obtained by Diario Red journalists Valeria Duarte Galleguillos and Diana Carolina Alfonso reveal a shadowy pact: Hernández’s pardon was secured with backing from a “council of rabbis” tied to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the explicit goal of influencing the upcoming Colombian presidential elections.

Hernández admits in the recordings that Netanyahu and Trump were “fully involved” in his release, which was part of a political payoff. In exchange, Hernández promised to facilitate the expansion of U.S. military bases and Economic Development Zones (ZEDES) in Honduras. But the real prize is Colombia, where Hernández boasts about coordinating an “information cell” with Argentine far-right leader Javier Milei to destabilize the region’s left-leaning governments.

This operation, funded with half a million dollars from the United States, aims to smear Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Mexican politician Claudia Sheinbaum, clearing the way for far-right Uribista candidate Paloma Valencia. Diario Red connects this campaign to Netanyahu’s urgent need to restore commercial ties with Colombia, which severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024.

The scandal exposes the glaring hypocrisy of the so-called “drug war.” While Israel and Trump strike deals with traffickers, the U.S. government maintains a public posture of fighting drugs. A New York Times investigation cited in the report reveals that gold mined illegally by Colombian cartels is minted into coins by the U.S. Mint, underscoring Washington’s role as a primary client of criminal enterprises.

At the core of this geopolitical dirty war is not drug trafficking but the threat posed by Colombia’s Total Peace model championed by Petro. His agrarian reform, redistributing land in paramilitary strongholds like Puerto Boyacá, is labeled a “dangerous antidote” to criminal networks. This explains why progressive candidates like Iván Cepeda and Aída Quilcué are targeted by this Israel-backed campaign.

This is not Israel’s first interference in Colombian affairs. The report recalls Israeli mercenary Yair Klein’s paramilitary training in the 1980s and draws parallels to Paloma Valencia, granddaughter of the president who legalized paramilitarism in 1965 and a key figure in reestablishing coal exports to Israel.

Most chilling are leaked audio orders, allegedly from Trump, advocating “any form of violence” to suppress populations: “In Honduras, blood is needed… if you want to keep the people controlled, you need to oppress them.” Diario Red warns that this Honduran blueprint could be replicated in Colombia if the far right seizes power, threatening progressive governments across Latin America.

Hondurasgate reveals a dangerous axis of corruption, foreign interference, and authoritarian tactics designed to undermine democracy in Colombia and the region. The fight for sovereignty versus imperial manipulation is now front and center in Latin America’s political battleground.