Ex-Honduran President Praised by Trump Sentenced for Running ‘Narco-State’

Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced in New York on Wednesday to 45 years in prison for enabling drug traffickers to use his military and national police force to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States.

Hernández, 55, is the first former head of state to be found guilty of drug trafficking in the U.S. since Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was convicted in 1992.

Wearing a green prison uniform, Hernández stood in court with his lawyers, flanked by two U.S. marshals. Judge P. Kevin Castel, who presided over the trial in Manhattan federal court, called him a “two-faced politician hungry for power” who protected a select group of traffickers.

As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay an $8 million fine.

The Department of Justice said that the former president ran Honduras as a “narco-state,” working with drug dealers as far back as 2004 and taking millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from a local congressman to president of the national congress and then to the country’s highest office.

Prosecutors say he used drug money to bribe officials and manipulate voting results in his favor during the 2013 and 2017 Honduran presidential elections.

The defense relied on the laws and measures Hernández adopted during his two terms to fight drug trafficking and organized crime in Honduras, the Central American country long plagued by corruption and drug trafficking.

Hernández acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself. He said he was being persecuted by politicians and drug traffickers.

“I am innocent,” Hernández declared at his sentencing. “I was wrongly and unjustly accused.” Despite his assertions of innocence, the evidence presented during the two-week trial painted a damning picture of a leader deeply entangled in the drug trade.

Trial witnesses included traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of murders and said Hernández was an enthusiastic protector of some of the world’s most powerful cocaine dealers, including notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life prison term in the U.S.

“He paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States, protected by machine guns,” prosecutors said in their closing arguments.

Witnesses testified in March that Hernández’s cooperation was crucial for El Chapo’s operations, using his control over the military and police in Honduras, a major cocaine transit route from South America to the U.S.

Drug money, including funds from El Chapo, also financed Hernández’s political campaigns.

“Many see the conviction of Juan Orlando Hernández as long-overdue justice and a crucial step towards accountability. However, it also highlights the deep corruption and strong influence of drug trafficking in our country,” César Silva, a Honduran TV anchor and journalist, told Newsweek.

Silva has been covering the trial since early March and was at the front door of the Manhattan courthouse when the conviction was handed down. He stood alongside dozens of Hondurans who celebrated the decision.

“There’s a mix of relief and apprehension among the people as we face the challenge of rebuilding trust in our institutions,” he said.

Hernández’s case has significant implications for Honduras, a country grappling with widespread corruption and violence fueled by the drug trade. During his presidency, Honduras received more than $50 million in anti-narcotics aid from the United States and tens of millions of dollars in military and security aid.

He also received the support of former U.S. President Donald Trump to take strong measures against drugs and migration and cooperated with the United States.