Former Honduran President convicted of serving to drug smugglers smuggle medication into US

by

[

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez

On Friday in New York, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was indicted on expenses of conspiring with drug traffickers and utilizing each his navy and nationwide police pressure to maneuver cocaine into the USA.

Hernandez, 55, who served two phrases as president, was arrested at his dwelling within the Honduran capital a couple of months after leaving workplace in 2022 and was finally extradited to the US.

The New York Put up stories:

U.S. prosecutors accused Hernandez of working with drug traffickers since 2004 and mentioned he took tens of millions of {dollars} in bribes as he rose from rural congressman to president of the Nationwide Congress after which to the nation's highest workplace.

Hernández admitted in trial testimony that drug cash was paid to virtually all political events in Honduras, however he denied taking bribes himself.

,

Throughout closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Legal professional Jacob Gutwillig instructed the jury {that a} corrupt Hernandez “created the cocaine superhighway for the USA.”

About 100 of Hernández's opponents waited for the decision on the road outdoors the courtroom and applauded and celebrated after listening to the outcomes.

In line with the Put up, through the trial of accused Honduran drug trafficker Giovanni Fuentes Ramirez, Gutwillig mentioned in his opening assertion that “the accountant was current when Hernandez allegedly mentioned he 'wished to place the medication within the gringo's nostril. '”

“They conspired to ship as a lot cocaine as doable into the USA,” Gutwillig mentioned.

Following the decision, U.S. Legal professional Damien Williams shared, “Juan Orlando Hernandez had each alternative to grow to be a pressure for good in his native Honduras. As a substitute, he selected to abuse his workplace and the nation for his personal private acquire and partnered with a number of the world's largest and most violent drug trafficking organizations to ship tons of cocaine into the USA. My honest hope is that this conviction sends a message to all corrupt politicians who would think about an identical path: Select in another way. “My workplace will depart no stone unturned in investigating and prosecuting these liable for sending poison into this group, no matter their place or political energy.”

Leave a Comment