Former president of Honduras convicted in U.S. of aiding drug traffickers

[Pelican Press 0]

Former president of Honduras convicted in U.S. of aiding ***** traffickers

Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez testifies during his trial on U.S. ***** trafficking charges in federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., March 6, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. 

Jane Rosenberg | Reuters

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted Friday in New York of charges that he conspired with ***** traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons of ******** to make it unhindered into the ******* States.

The jury returned its verdict at a federal court after a

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Hernández, 55, who served two terms as the leader of the Central ********* nation of roughly 10 million people, patted a defense attorney, Renato Stabile, on the back as they stood along with everyone else in the courtroom while the jurors filed out after the reading of the verdict.

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.

The scene in the courtroom was subdued and Hernandez seemed relaxed as the verdict on three counts was announced by the jury foreperson. At times, Hernandez had his hands folded before him or one leg crossed over the other as each juror was asked to affirm the verdict. They all did.

In remarks to the jury before they left the courtroom, Judge P. Kevin Castel praised jurors for reaching a unanimous verdict, which was necessary for a conviction.

“We live in a country where 12 people can’t agree on a pizza topping,” the judge told them, saying his message would have been the same regardless of their verdict. “That’s why I’m in awe of you.”

Defense attorneys and prosecutors did not immediately comment.

Hernandez was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, three months after leaving office in 2022 and

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in April of that year.

Honduras’ former President Juan Orlando Hernandez (C) is escorted by police officers at the Honduran National Directorate of Special Forces before his extradition to the US to face *****-trafficking related charges, in Tegucigalpa, on April 21, 2022. 

********* | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. prosecutors accused Hernández of working with ***** traffickers as long ago as 2004, saying 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 ***** money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he

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

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

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

“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.

During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig told the jury that a corrupt Hernández “paved a ******** superhighway to the ******* States.”

Stabile said his client “has been wrongfully charged” as he urged an acquittal.

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 ******** dealers, including notorious ******** ***** lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life prison term in the U.S.

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.

His brother, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández, a former Honduran congressman, was

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in Manhattan federal court for his own conviction

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#president #Honduras #convicted #U.S #aiding #***** #traffickers

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