US court sentences ex-president of Honduras to 45 years in prison in drug case

Former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was sentenced to 45 years in prison and an $8 million fine by a United States judge for drug trafficking crimes.

Hernandez denied the accusations against him and, at his sentencing this Wednesday (26), insisted that he is innocent and was “wrongly and unfairly accused”.

In March, a jury in New York found the former president guilty of three drug trafficking charges following a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court.

The politician was extradited from Honduras after the US Department of Justice filed three drug and firearms trafficking-related charges against him in 2022.

Prosecutors accused Hernández, 55, of conspiring with drug cartels during his time in office as they transported more than 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras toward the United States.

In return, prosecutors said, Hernández received millions of dollars in bribes that he used to fuel his rise in Honduran politics.

Presidency of Honduras

Hernández was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. During his years in office, he “protected and enriched drug traffickers in his inner circle,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The department also cited that the politician used executive power to support extraditions to the US of certain drug traffickers “who threatened his control of power”.

Prosecutors also said members of the conspiracy in which Hernández participated relied on the Honduran National Police to protect cocaine shipments as they moved across the country.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernández “abused his position as president of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the The people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences.”

Ana Melgar and David Shortell from CNN contributed to this report.