Ex-President Juan Hernandez jailed 45 years in U.S. for drug trafficking

The U.S. accused Mr Hernandez of shielding drug traffickers but extradited drug traffickers he perceived could jeopardise his presidency.

Ahmed Oluwasanjo • June 27, 2024

Honduras ex-President Hernandez and cocaine (credit: CBC)

Honduras ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison in the United States over drug trafficking offences.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel pronounced Mr Hernandez’s sentence in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday.

“I am innocent,” the 55-year-old Mr Hernandez said at his sentencing. “I was wrongly and unjustly accused.”

Mr Hernandez, who was president between 2014 and 2022, was also slammed with an $8 million fine.

In 2022, the US Department of Justice filed three drug-trafficking and firearms charges against Mr Hernandez after he was extradited.

The former Honduran president was found guilty of collecting bribes to shield drug traffickers moving drugs into the United States by a Manhattan jury and was sentenced.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Mr Hernandez shielded drug traffickers but extradited drug traffickers he perceived could jeopardise his presidency.

Mr Hernandez, 55, “protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle” while using his executive power to extradite drug traffickers who threatened his political survival, the Justice Department said.

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