Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has been declared guilty of drug trafficking offenses in a federal US court.
Hernández was found guilty on Friday of participating in a scheme to import cocaine into the US and possessing “destructive devices,” including machine guns.
According to prosecutors, Hernández presided over Honduras as a “narco-state,” allegedly shielding and taking bribes from drug traffickers.
Facing a potential life sentence, the 55-year-old former president had maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty throughout the case.
Following approximately two days of deliberation, a Manhattan federal court jury convicted Hernández.
Hernández held the presidency of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, serving two consecutive terms.
Initially elected on a platform of law and order, promising to combat drug-related crime, Hernández was accused by prosecutors of colluding with major narcotics traffickers to establish a corrupt and violent empire rooted in the illegal trafficking of cocaine to the United States.
Three months after his presidency ended, Hernández was extradited to New York and arrested in April 2022 to face federal charges in the US.
Once considered a staunch ally of the United States, during his tenure, Honduras received substantial anti-narcotics aid totaling over $50 million, along with additional security and military assistance.
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In 2019, then-President Donald Trump praised Hernández for close cooperation with the United States in combating drug trafficking.
However, prosecutors later revealed Hernández’s alleged ties to drug traffickers dating back to 2004, prior to his presidency, and his involvement in facilitating the smuggling of around 500 tonnes of cocaine into the US.
During the trial, convicted drug traffickers testified to bribing Hernández, while prosecutors accused him of using drug money to manipulate Honduras’ presidential elections in 2013 and 2017.
In his defense, Hernández claimed victimization by organized crime and political adversaries, denouncing the accusations as part of a vendetta against him.
He has been detained in a Brooklyn jail since his extradition, awaiting sentencing.
Hernández joins the ranks of other ex-Latin American heads of state convicted of drug-related crimes in the US, including Panama’s Manuel Noriega in 1992 and Guatemala’s Alfonso Portillo in 2014.
