AFPPresident Hernández of Honduras in March 2021
NOS News•yesterday, 23:05•Adjusted today, 00:11
In the United States, former President Hernández of Honduras has been convicted of large-scale drug smuggling. He faces a prison sentence of at least 40 years. He will hear the sentence in June.
Hernández (55) was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. He resigned at the beginning of 2022. A few months later he was extradited to the US.
The crimes date back to 2004, when Hernández was still a lawmaker. He took over in the years that followed millions of dollars in bribes to finance his political career. In exchange for the money, he arranged heavily armed police escorts for coke transports through Honduras. In total, he helped smuggle more than 360,000 kilos of cocaine into the US.
To deny
During the trial, Hernández acknowledged that virtually all political parties in Honduras accepted drug money, but continued to deny that he had done so himself. He also rejected the other accusations.
“I had a policy against all those people because I couldn’t stand them,” Hernández said, according to the Reuters news agency, referring to drug traffickers. “They have caused a lot of damage in the country.”
His brother is already serving a life sentence in the US for large-scale drug smuggling. His cousin was also convicted by an American judge for participating in the criminal organization around Hernández.
2024-03-08 22:05:37
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