Former President Juan Hernández sentenced to 45 years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking crimes.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel handed down Mr. Hernandez's sentence in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday.

“I am innocent,” Mr. Hernández, 55, said during his sentencing. “I have been wrongly and unfairly accused.”

Mr. Hernandez, who served as president between 2014 and 2022, was also fined $8 million.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice filed three drug and firearms charges against Mr. Hernandez after his extradition.

The former Honduran president was convicted of collecting bribes to protect drug traffickers transporting drugs to the United States by a Manhattan jury and was sentenced.

The U.S. Justice Department said Mr. Hernández protected drug traffickers, but extradition of drug traffickers it said could jeopardize his presidency.

Mr. Hernandez, 55, “protected and enriched drug traffickers in his inner circle” while using his executive power to extradite drug traffickers who threatened his political survival, the Justice Department said.