A historic verdict
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has been sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $8 million by a US judge for drug trafficking offenses. Despite his repeated denials, the verdict was delivered on Wednesday, where Hernández insisted on his innocence, saying he had been “wrongly and unjustly accused.”
In March, a New York jury found Hernández guilty of three counts of drug trafficking after a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court. These accusations, which he has always denied, led to his extradition from Honduras in 2022, following charges filed by the US Department of Justice for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
Prosecutors accused Hernández, 55, of conspiring with drug cartels while in office, facilitating the transit of more than 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras to the United States. In exchange, he allegedly received millions of dollars in bribes, used to strengthen his position in Honduran politics.
Hernández served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. During his years in power, he allegedly “protected and enriched the drug traffickers around him,” using his executive authority to support extraditions to the United States of some traffickers threatening his power, while promising those who supported him protection in Honduras.
Police complicity
Prosecutors also pointed out that members of the conspiracy, of which Hernández was a part, relied on the Honduran National Police to protect cocaine shipments passing through the country.
International reactions
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernández “abused his position as president to transform Honduras into a narco-state where violent drug traffickers could operate with impunity, to the detriment of the people of Honduras and the United States “.
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