US Sentences Former Honduras President to 45 Years for Drug Charges
A New York court sentenced Juan Orlando Hernandez to 45 years in prison on Wednesday, June 26.
The former Honduran President was found guilty in March of aiding cartels in trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the US.
In addition to the prison sentence, Hernandez was fined $8 million (approximately €7.5 million).
Although the prosecutors sought a life sentence, the 55-year-old is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Judge P. Kevin Castel emphasized that the sentence should serve as a warning to “well-educated, well-dressed” individuals who gain power and believe their status shields them from justice.
“I am innocent,” Hernandez stated through an interpreter in court on Wednesday. “I was wrongly and unjustly accused.”
He also previously indicated he would appeal the conviction.
On Wednesday, protesters gathered outside the New York court with banners demanding an end to the drug trade and displaying pictures of individuals who had died due to it in Honduras.
US federal prosecutors claim Hernandez turned Honduras into a “narco-state” during his tenure from 2014 to 2022.
In March, Hernandez was convicted of facilitating the trafficking of approximately 500 tons of cocaine, primarily from Colombia and Venezuela, to the US through Honduras. His involvement allegedly began as early as 2004, well before his presidency.
Prosecutors stated that Hernandez used the drug money to enrich himself, fund his political campaign, and commit electoral fraud in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections. He was extradited to the US in 2022, shortly after leaving office, with the top court in Honduras approving his extradition.
In court, Hernandez portrayed himself as a hero in the fight against drug trafficking, claiming to have collaborated with three former US presidents to combat the issue.
Judge Castel rejected this portrayal, stating that Hernandez had exhibited “considerable acting skills” to appear as an ally of the US while actually using the country’s police and military to protect the cocaine trade. The judge labeled Hernandez a “two-faced politician hungry for power.”
Hernandez joins a list of Latin American former heads of state convicted of narcotics trafficking in the US, including Panama’s Manuel Noriega in 1992 and Guatemala’s Alfonso Portillo in 2014.
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