Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was sentenced on Friday in New York. He was accused of conspiring with drug traffickers and using the country's army and national police to ensure the unimpeded flow of tons of cocaine to the United States. This was reported by the Associated Press , according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, the jury reached a verdict in federal court after a two-week trial.
U.S. prosecutors accused Hernández of collaborating with drug traffickers back in 2004, claiming he received millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from a rural congressman to president of the National Congress and then to the country's highest office.
During his testimony in court, Hernandez admitted that he had paid money for drugs to almost all political parties in Honduras, but denied receiving bribes to the last. He said that his charges were fabricated and demanded leniency for his crimes.
But the prosecutor's office ridiculed Hernández for allegedly being the only honest politician in Honduras.
During closing arguments in court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig told the jury that the corrupt Hernandez "laid a cocaine highway into the United States.
Defense lawyer Renato Stabile said that his client "was wrongfully accused" because he insisted on acquittal.
The newspaper noted that among the witnesses in the trial were human traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of murders and said that Hernandez was a staunch defender of some of the world's most powerful cocaine traffickers, including the famous Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.
For reference
Hernandez, 55, served two terms as leader of the Central American nation of about 10 million people. He was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, three months after his resignation in 2022. He was later extradited to the United States in April of that year.
In addition, it is known that his brother Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernandez, a former congressman from Honduras, was also convicted of drug trafficking in 2021. Tony was sentenced to life in prison. This decision was made by the Federal Court of Manhattan.