In March, a New York jury convicted Hernandez of three drug trafficking charges after a two-week trial. He was extradited from Honduras to the United States after the US Justice Department charged him with drug and weapons trafficking in 2022.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández speaks at the COP26 climate change conference in Scotland in November 2021. Photo: Andy Buchanan/Getty Images
Prosecutors say Hernandez accepted bribes from drug gangs, including El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel, to allow the shipment of more than 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras into the United States.
They also accused him of abusing his power to protect drug traffickers, including his brother Tony Hernandez, who was sentenced to life in prison in the US in 2019.
During his term from 2014 to 2022, Hernandez used his position to consolidate political power and protect drug cartels, while still presenting himself as an ally of the United States on crime and drug issues.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernandez abused his position to turn Honduras into a "narco-state" where drug criminals operate with impunity.
Hong Hanh (according to CNN)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/former-president-of-honduras-was-arrested-45-years-in-a-trafficking-drug-trafficking-post301073.html
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