Former Honduran president found guilty of drug trafficking at NYC trial

The former President of Honduras has been convicted of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and aiding traffickers like El Chapo in the process. 

Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted in New York on charges that he conspired with traffickers and used his military and police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the US.

The jury returned its verdict at a federal court after a two week trial, which has been closely followed in his home country.

Hernández, 55, served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people. 

He was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, three months after leaving office in 2022 and was extradited to the U.S. in April of that year.

Honduras' former president Juan Orlando bows his head as he's convicted of drug trafficking by a New York City court on Friday

Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted in New York on charges that he conspired with traffickers and used his military and police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the United States 

 Hernandez, second from right, is taken in handcuffs to a waiting aircraft as he is extradited to the United States, at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, April 21, 2022

U.S. prosecutors accused Hernández of working with drug traffickers as long ago as 2004.

They said he took millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from rural congressman to president of the National Congress and then to the country's highest office.

Hernández acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself.

He noted that he had visited the White House and cast himself as a champion in the war on drugs who worked to curb the flow of drugs to the U.S.

In one instance, he said, he was warned by the FBI that a drug cartel wanted to assassinate him.

He said his accusers fabricated their claims about him in bids for leniency for their crimes.

'They all have motivation to lie, and they are professional liars,' Hernández said.

But the prosecution mocked Hernández for seemingly claiming to be the only honest politician in Honduras.

Hernández, seated center at the defense table, turns to looks at prospective jurors during the jury selection process at the start of his trial.

During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig told the jury that a corrupt Hernández 'paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States.'

Defense attorney Renato Stabile said his client 'has been wrongfully charged' as he urged an acquittal.

Trial witnesses included traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of murders.

They testified that Hernández was an enthusiastic protector of some of the world's most powerful cocaine dealers. 

These included notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, who is serving a life prison term in the U.S.

The head of the Sinaloa Cartel is said to have paid $1m in bribes to Hernández's political campaigns.

Prosecutors said that he boasted he would 'stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos'. 

Hernández, wearing a suit throughout the trial, was mostly dispassionate as he testified through an interpreter, repeatedly saying 'no sir' as he was asked if he ever paid bribes or promised to protect traffickers from extradition to the U.S.

The New York Times reported that Hondurans who had arrived to watch the trial laughed at the former president as he testified. 

El Chapo is escorted by marines as he is presented to the press on February 22, 2014 in Mexico City

One drug trafficker who testified that he was responsible for 56 murders, said Hernández promised him would ensure law enforcement left him alone if he provided financing for his political career.

Throughout his two days on the witness stand, Hernández kept his composure, calmly answering questions even as a prosecutor taunted him with questions.

He even asked sarcastically  if all five trial witnesses who claimed he accepted money from drug dealers were lying and he was the only one telling the truth.

'They all have motivation to lie, and they are professional liars,' Hernández said. Four of the five were convicted drug traffickers who testified that they gave money to Hernández themselves.

Despised for years in Honduras as he trampled a constitutional ban on reelection to run again and win in a highly criticized election filled with irregularities, many Hondurans were eager to see him face justice. 

When the news reached nearly 100 opponents of Hernandez on the street outside the courthouse, they applauded and began jumping into the air to celebrate the outcome. 

His brother Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernández, a former Honduran congressman, was sentenced to life in 2021 in Manhattan federal court for his own conviction on drug charges.