NEW YORK — A U.S. judge on Wednesday sentenced former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández to 45 years in prison and an $8 million fine for running his country as a “narco-state” that served as a crucial conduit for South American cocaine flowing into the United States.
The Charges Against Hernández
US prosecutors stated that Hernández, 55, who was convicted on federal drug and weapons charges in March, built his political career on millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers in Honduras and Mexico. During his two terms as president from 2014 to 2022, he protected major drug traffickers from extradition and prosecution, allegedly helping transport at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
Hernández’s Relationship with the US Government
During his presidency, the United States government portrayed Hernández as an ally. In 2015, then-Vice President Joe Biden hosted him at the White House. In December 2019, former President Donald Trump praised him for his cooperation, stating that countries were “stopping drugs at a level never seen before.”
However, the Justice Department was investigating him as part of a broader investigation into drug trafficking allegations against Honduras’ political elite. His brother, Tony Hernandez, was convicted on federal drug trafficking charges in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors described Juan Orlando Hernández as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case.
Arrest and Extradition
At the request of the United States, Hernández was arrested by Honduran police within weeks of leaving office in January 2022, and he was extradited to face federal charges in New York.
Trial and Sentencing
Hernández’s trial raised questions about whether the US government ignored his alleged criminal activities when it asked for his help in slowing migration toward the southwest border. Former American diplomats denied this, citing bureaucratic dysfunction in Washington where State Department officials were unaware of the Justice Department’s investigation.
Hernández’s Defense and Prosecutors’ Arguments
Hernández has maintained his innocence, accusing imprisoned drug dealers of giving false testimony against him in exchange for reduced sentences. “Mr. Hernández has done more to combat drug trafficking in Honduras than any Honduran president before or since,” his lawyer, Renato Stabile, wrote in a motion seeking the mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a life sentence. “As a direct result of the defendant’s crimes, Honduras has become one of the world’s largest shipping points for cocaine destined for the United States and one of the most violent places in the world,” they said in their written submission.
Political Context
In 2009, Hernández’s conservative National Party assumed the presidency of the country of 10 million after ousting leftist President Mel Zelaya in a coup. The party was weakened by corruption and drug trafficking scandals, and Hernández lost the presidency in 2021 to Zelaya’s wife, Xiomara Castro.
