Tony Hernandez, brother of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, was sentenced to life on Tuesday by a New York federal judge, after being found guilty of shipping some 185 tonnes of cocaine to the United States.
This sentence was immediately deemed “scandalous” by the Honduran president, in a statement distributed to the press in Tegucigalpa by the presidency.
“I find it scandalous, incredible that false testimonies of proven assassins are listened to and valued in this way,” he said. “What happened today (Tuesday) is something very hard for my family and I do not wish it on anyone,” he added.
Tony Hernandez, a 42-year-old former MP, was arrested in Miami in November 2018. In October 2019, after two weeks of trial in New York, he was found guilty of drug trafficking – trafficking for which he had the protection of his brother, according to US prosecutors – false testimony and possession of firearms.
His family in Honduras also proclaimed Tuesday evening his “innocence” and confirmed that he would appeal, in a statement released by the Honduran presidency.
“Juan Antonio Hernandez is innocent and faced with an absolutely unjust and inhuman decision, he has decided to appeal,” said his relatives in this press release.
Judge Kevin Castel ruled that the life imprisonment, with restitutions and confiscations equivalent to $ 138.5 million, was “fully deserved”, rather than the minimum sentence of 40 years in prison for which the lawyer had pleaded. defense, Peter Brill.
The magistrate cited the huge amounts of cocaine imported by Tony Hernandez into the United States, the murder and intimidation of witnesses he commissioned, the fact that he even affixed “his own brand, TH” to certain shipments, and the absence of extenuating circumstances for this well-born and educated man.
“He was a congressman from Honduras and could have used his power for good causes, but he chose a totally opposite direction,” said Mr. Castel.
Federal prosecutor Matthew Laroche insisted during the hearing on the links between the accused and the Honduran head of state. He stressed that Tony Hernandez had conspired with “powerful allies”, including “his brother, the president”, to make Honduras a “virtual narco-state”.
He also criticized Hernandez for showing “no remorse” and for using his speaking time at Tuesday’s hearing only to “complain about his lawyer”.
Mr. Hernandez, a lawyer by training, lamented before the judge not having been able to see his lawyer sufficiently and to have been “deprived of his rights” of defense. His lawyer said he would appeal the conviction.
– “Painful” news
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has never been charged and has ruled Honduras since 2014 after his re-election, said he expected “painful” news from the New York audience, in a tweet before the hearing .
Juan Orlando Hernandez, nicknamed “JOH”, had again swept aside all accusations and denounced as “lies” the testimonies which led to his brother’s conviction.
During the trial in October 2019, Alexander Ardon, ex-drug trafficker and former Honduran mayor, testified in particular to having attended a meeting in 2013 at which Joaquin Guzman, alias “El Chapo”, co-leader of the cartel of Sinaloa imprisoned in the United States, had given a million dollars in cash to Tony Hernandez, intended for the electoral campaign of his brother.
Supporting testimony, the federal prosecutor had asserted that Tony Hernandez had been involved in cocaine trafficking since at least 2004, operating “with total impunity” thanks to the protection of his brother, contributing to “rotting the institutions of Honduras” .
On Tuesday, around thirty demonstrators were waiting in front of the Manhattan court, armed with signs saying in particular “Fuera JOH” (JOH outside). Opponents of the Honduran president had already demonstrated at the end of the trial to demand his resignation.
The Honduran president was also involved in the recent trial of another Honduran drug trafficker, Geovanny Fuentes, who was found guilty last week.
During the hearings, two witnesses as well as the public prosecutor accused “JOH” of having ensured the protection of Mr. Fuentes and his trafficking, in exchange for bribes.
Here again, the president rejected the allegations and accused the witnesses of seeking leniency from the American justice system by any means.
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