Zelaya was detained for 8 hours at Honduras airport when $ 18,000 was found

The former president complained that he was “unfairly” detained in Toncontin when he intended to travel to Mexico with $ 18,000 in hand luggage, although he assures that the money does not belong to him.

Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was released on Friday 27-N after eight hours spent at Toncontín International Airport in Tegucigalpa after attempting to travel to Mexico with $ 18,000 in his suitcase without declaring anything.

“The prosecutor has done its job, we claim that this money is not mine, and for not declaring such an amount there would be an administrative penalty,” Zelaya told reporters as he left the airport in his vehicle.

The former president denounced that he was “unfairly” detained in Toncontin when he intended to travel to Mexico with $ 18,000 in hand luggage, although he assures that the money does not belong to him.

“The Prosecutor’s Office will investigate and we will investigate too. It is good that they investigate and we will see who put those values ​​in my backpack because they were not mine,” said Zelaya, who is the general coordinator of the Libertad y Refundación Party (LIBRE, left ).

Zelaya was arrested while trying to board a plane to Houston (USA), from where he would fly to Mexico to attend a seminar.

“I was going to Houston. What was I going to use that money for? Apparently what they wanted by putting that money there had to be kept there in the United States, because the news would be different there,” he added.

The money was in a paper bag in his hand luggage, said Zelaya, who was toppled on June 28, 2009 when he promoted constitutional reforms the law prevented him from making.

After learning of Zelaya’s detention, dozens of people demonstrated in front of Toncontín International Airport to demand his release and clashed with the national police, who used tear gas to disperse them when they tried to enter the area. terminal.

Protesters burned tires and prevented the free movement of vehicles in that area, then police shot tear gas at them to try to disperse them.

The politician assured him that he has no problems leaving the country, since the authorities have not issued any orders against him.

“We never carry more than $ 18,000 for travel. They asked me if I had 10,000. I said yes. I didn’t know I was carrying a bag with $ 18,000,” said the former president of Honduras.

The laws of Honduras allow up to $ 10,000 as the maximum amount of money a person can carry, as long as they verify its origin.