NEW YORK – He former president honduran Juan Orlando Hernandez was found guilty Friday of conspiring with drug traffickers and using his military and police forces to facilitate the entry of tons of cocaine into the United States.
The jury returned its verdict in federal court after a two-week trial that has been closely watched in its native country.
Hernández, 55, served as president of the Central American country for two terms. He was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the capital, three months after finishing his second term in 2022 and extradited to the United States in April of that year.
Federal prosecutors accused Hernández of collaborating with drug traffickers since 2004 and accepting millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from a rural district legislator to president of Congress and then chief executive.
Hernández acknowledged in his statements before the court that almost all political parties in Honduras They received money from drug traffickers, but he denied having collected bribes himself.
He highlighted that he had visited the White House and in meetings with American presidents he presented himself as a champion in the fight against drug trafficking who collaborated to stop the shipment of drugs to the northern country.
He said that on one occasion the FBI warned him that a cartel wanted to kill him.
He also said his accusers only wanted to get mitigated sentences.
“They have reasons to lie and they are professional liars,” he said.
But prosecutors scoffed at his attempt to present himself as the only honest politician in Honduras.
In his closing argument Wednesday, prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig said the corrupt Hernandez “paved a superhighway for the shipment of cocaine to the United States.”
Defense lawyer Renato Stabile said his client “has been falsely accused” and called for his acquittal.
Among the witnesses were traffickers who confessed their responsibility in dozens of murders and said that Hernández was an enthusiastic protector of some of the most powerful cocaine traffickers in the world, such as the infamous Mexican Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in USA.
Hernandez, who wore a suit during the trial, appeared unfazed as he testified through an interpreter. He responded “no, sir,” when asked if he paid bribes or promised to protect traffickers when the United States requested their extradition..
His brother Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández, a former legislator in Honduras, was sentenced to life in Manhattan for his own role in drug trafficking.
‘They have many reasons to lie’
The defense of Hernández attempted to undermine the credibility of the witnesses and the little evidence that has been presented, appealing to the “common sense” of the jury.
He recalled that most witnesses seek to reduce their sentences or obtain documents as protected witnesses.
Contrary to what is usual in this type of criminal proceedings, the former president took the stand to testify. The prosecution tried to corner him and make him contradict the activities of his brother Tony. Hernándeznotorious drug trafficker.
But when asked if he ever received money from drug trafficking, the accused responded: “Never, sir. That was totally prohibited.”
Most of the witnesses claimed to have bribed the president in exchange for protection for their activities and not to be extradited.
But Hernández, who has declared himself a “victim of revenge,” called the witnesses “professional liars.” “Everyone has a lot of reasons to lie,” she said.
Source: With information from AP and AFP
