Former Honduran president hailed by Trump sentenced for leading 'narco-state'

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced Wednesday in New York to 45 years in prison for allowing drug traffickers to use his army and national police to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States. United.

Hernández, 55, is the first former head of state to be convicted of drug trafficking in the United States since Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was convicted in 1992.

Wearing a green prison uniform, Hernández stood in court with his lawyers, flanked by two U.S. marshals. Judge P. Kevin Castel, who presided over the trial in Manhattan federal court, called him a “power-hungry, two-faced politician” who protected a select group of traffickers.

As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay an $8 million fine.

The Justice Department said the former president ran Honduras as a “narcostate,” working with drug traffickers as early as 2004 and accepting millions of dollars in bribes as it transitioned from status from local congressman to national congress president to the highest office in the land.

Prosecutors say he used drug money to bribe officials and manipulate voting results in his favor in Honduran presidential elections in 2013 and 2017.

The defense relied on laws and measures adopted by Hernández during his two terms to combat drug trafficking and organized crime in Honduras, a Central American country long plagued by corruption and trafficking. drug.

Hernández acknowledged during his trial testimony that drug money went to virtually every political party in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself. He said he was being persecuted by politicians and drug traffickers.

“I am innocent,” Hernández said during his sentencing. “I have been wrongly and unfairly accused.” Despite his claims of innocence, evidence presented during the two-week trial painted a damning picture of an executive deeply involved in drug trafficking.

Witnesses at the trial included traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of killings and said Hernández was an enthusiastic protector of some of the world's most powerful cocaine traffickers, including notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.who is serving a life sentence in the United States

“He opened a cocaine highway to the United States, protected by machine guns,” prosecutors said in their indictments.

Witnesses testified in March that Hernandez's cooperation was crucial to El Chapo's operations, using his control over the military and police in Honduras, a major transit route for cocaine from South America to the United States.

Drug money, notably that of El Chapo, also financed Hernández's political campaigns.

“Many see the conviction of Juan Orlando Hernández as long-overdue justice and a crucial step toward accountability. However, it also highlights the deep corruption and strong influence of drug trafficking in our country,” said César Silva , Honduran television presenter and journalist. said News week.

Silva has been covering the trial since early March and was at the front door of the Manhattan courthouse when the sentencing was handed down. He stood alongside dozens of Hondurans who celebrated the decision.

“There is a mixture of relief and apprehension among the population as we face the challenge of restoring trust in our institutions,” he said.

Hernández's case has important implications for Honduras, a country grappling with widespread corruption and violence fueled by drug trafficking. During his presidency, Honduras received more than $50 million in counter-drug aid from the United States and tens of millions of dollars in military and security aid.

He also received support from former US President Donald Trump to take tough action on drugs and immigration and cooperated with the United States.