Honduras' ex-president sentenced to 45 years for drug trafficking to U.S.
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Juan Orlando Hernández in 2015. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández on Wednesday was sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. prison for his drug trafficking and weapons conviction.
The big picture: Hernández, once embraced by U.S. officials who leaned on him for efforts to stem northbound migration, is one of several leaders of Latin American countries who have faced accusations of corruption.
Catch up quick: Hernández, who was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was extradited to the U.S. on federal charges in April 2022.
- He was convicted on March 8 after a three-week trial, per the Department of Justice.
- Authorities say that since at least 2004 and throughout his presidency Hernández "was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world," according to the DOJ.
- The DOJ says Hernández facilitated the importation of more than 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S while working with heavily armed and dangerous criminals.
Several Hondurans have been extradited for similar charges, including two major drug kingpins who testified Hernández received bribes from them or gave them instructions for money laundering.
- Tony Hernández, a former Congress member and brother of Juan Orlando Hernández, was sentenced to life in prison on drug charges in 2021.
- The ex-president's predecessor, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, is also linked to drug-trafficking groups and is on a U.S. list of corrupt past and present officials.
What they're saying: Hernández "abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, and the people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement Wednesday.
- U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said the sentence "is a critical step in the right direction, but does not undo the years of damage Hernández inflicted on the Honduran people and throughout the region."
- "The victims of this corruption, in Honduras, across Central America, and in the U.S. deserve restitution," Torres said in a statement.
