From Presidency to Prison: Ex-Honduran Leader Hernández Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

Former Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernández, was sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. prison for enabling drug traffickers. Convicted in March, Hernández allegedly allowed the use of his military and police forces to smuggle cocaine into the United States. He maintains his innocence, claiming his trial was unjust.

In a significant legal blow, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was handed a 45-year prison sentence in New York on Wednesday. The conviction came on charges that Hernández enabled drug traffickers to exploit his military and police force for smuggling vast quantities of cocaine into the United States.

Despite his pleas of innocence, stating he was wrongly accused, Judge P. Kevin Castel described Hernández as a 'two-faced politician hungry for power.' The sentencing also included an $8 million fine, following a two-week trial that drew major attention in Hernández's home country. The former president stood in a green prison uniform, flanked by two U.S. marshals.

Hernández, who served two presidential terms in Honduras, has been a controversial figure, with allegations surfacing as early as 2004. Though he acknowledged that drug money infiltrated Honduran politics, he denied personal involvement. Witnesses at the trial, however, testified to his ties with major traffickers, including infamous drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)