Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been sentenced to 45 years in prison and given an $8 million fine by a US judge for drug trafficking offences.
He has previously denied the charges against him and at his sentencing on Wednesday insisted that he is innocent and was “wrongly and unjustly accused.”
In March, a jury in New York found Hernandez guilty of three drug trafficking charges after a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court. He denied the charges.
He was extradited from Honduras after the US Department of Justice filed three drug-trafficking and firearms related charges against him in 2022.
Prosecutors had accused Hernández, 55, of conspiring with drug cartels during his tenure as they moved more than 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras toward the United States.
In exchange, prosecutors said, Hernández received millions of dollars in bribes that he used to fuel his rise in Honduran politics.
Hernández was president of Honduras from 2014 until 2022. During his years in office, he “protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle,” the Justice Department said, citing his use of executive power to support extraditions to the US of certain drug traffickers “who threatened his grip on power” while “promising drug traffickers who paid him and followed his instructions that they would remain in Honduras.”
Prosecutors also said that members of the conspiracy in which Hernández participated relied on the Honduran National Police to protect cocaine shipments as they moved through the country.
In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernández “abused his position as president of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences.”
Latest Stories
-
KNUST health doctoral candidates equipped with skills for informed decision-making
8 mins -
Moscow – A vibrant city of opportunities amidst challenges
10 mins -
Rotary Club of Kumasi, Premier International inaugurated
23 mins -
Foreign journalists tour conflict zones in Russia amid heightened tensions
31 mins -
PSWU-NIA division rejects Fair Wages’ proposed date, warns of potential strike
45 mins -
Foreign media delegation engages with young people in Zaporizhzhia region
48 mins -
Primary healthcare professionals seize AHEHC’s health entrepreneurship training opportunity
1 hour -
African Journalists visit ‘African Initiative’ news agency in Russia to strengthen bilateral ties
2 hours -
Star Oil unveils ‘Star Loyalty Card’ in a move to enhance customer experience
2 hours -
Cement manufacturers boycott stakeholder meeting with Trade Minister on new price regulation
2 hours -
Paris 2024: Harry Stacey and Joselle Mensah to represent Ghana in Swimming
2 hours -
PURC’s ‘Year of Strategic Impact’ gets results in Bono East Region
3 hours -
I listen to Kofi Kinaata and Stonebwoy because of the wisdom in their songs – Ohemaa Mercy
3 hours -
NSMQ2024: KNUST SHS makes grand entry of 76 points to national championship
3 hours -
Trump win as top court deals blow to Jan 6 case
3 hours