Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, has been found guilty of drug trafficking charges in a federal US court. Hernández, who served as president from 2014 to 2022, was convicted of conspiring to import cocaine into the US and possessing illegal weapons, including machine guns.
Prosecutors accused him of turning Honduras into a “narco-state,” alleging he protected and took bribes from drug traffickers. Despite denying any wrongdoing and pleading not guilty, Hernández faces a potential life sentence.
The conviction follows his extradition to New York in 2022, three months after leaving office. During his trial, witnesses testified that he had longstanding ties to drug traffickers and used bribery to manipulate elections. Hernández’s defense claimed he was targeted by a vendetta and that witnesses were motivated by personal gain.
He awaits sentencing while held in a Brooklyn jail. Hernández joins a small list of former Latin American heads of state convicted of drug-related crimes in the US, including Panama’s Manuel Noriega and Guatemala’s Alfonso Portillo.
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