Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez guilty in drug trafficking case

Juan Orlando Hernandez, the 55-year-old former president of Honduras, was found guilty in a federal court in New York of taking part in a plot to transport cocaine from his nation into the US.  

Following two weeks of deliberations, a jury in the Southern District Court of New York returned a decision on Friday, finding Hernandez guilty of charges pertaining to the trafficking of drugs and the possession of weapons. 

He was found guilty on all three of the charges against him: the first was conspiracy to bring cocaine into the United States; the second was possession of "machine guns and destructive devices" to aid in the transportation of cocaine; and the third was conspiracy to use those weapons to further his objectives.  

The maximum penalty for the latter two counts is life in prison.  

US prosecutors had accused Hernandez of partnering “with some of the largest cocaine traffickers in the world” and using his public office to protect shipments passing through Honduras. 

In exchange, the prosecutors argued, Hernandez received bribes to further his political career. In one instance, as Hernandez campaigned for his first term as president in 2013, prosecutors said he accepted approximately $1m from Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, the leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful drug smuggling syndicate. 

Hernandez has denied the charges against him and has instead sought to bolster his image as a tough-on-crime politician, known for “mano dura” or “iron fist” tactics. 

His defence team likewise tried to frame damaging testimony as attempts by drug traffickers and other criminals to get lighter sentencing in their own cases. 

“They all have motivation to lie, and they are professional liars,” Hernandez said of the prosecution witnesses. 

Defence lawyer Renato Stabile used his closing argument this week to make the case that his client had “been wrongfully charged”. 

However, Hernandez was accused by the prosecution of turning Honduras into "a cocaine superhighway to the United States" by utilizing the "full power and strength of the state."  

Throughout his two terms in office, from 2014 to 2022, Hernandez was embroiled in a number of scandals. Hondurans at home and abroad were keenly following his trial in the US, with some even showing up outside the court to protest.