Juan Orlando Hernandez is suspected of aiding in the smuggling of hundreds of thousands of pounds of cocaine to the United States. During his presidency, Hernandez appeared as an ally of the United States in the war on drugs.
Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez has been extradited to the United States on Thursday due to a drug trafficking trial.
He is suspected of assisting in the smuggling of hundreds of thousands of pounds of cocaine to the United States in nearly 20 years.
According to documents from the U.S. Embassy, Hernandez is alleged to have taken millions of dollars in bribes from various criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking.
– Hernandez abused his position as president of Hoduras from 2014 to 2022 to use his country as a drug state, said the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland at a press conference early Friday in Finnish time.
“Hernandez worked closely with other officials to protect cocaine shipments to the United States,” Garland said.
The former president faces a life sentence.
Hernandez, who ended his presidency in January, was arrested after mid-February for a U.S. extradition request. The Supreme Court of Honduras approved the extradition of Hernandez in late March.
Hernandez has denied the allegations against him.
The president’s brother was previously sentenced to life imprisonment for drug smuggling
Hernandez has been president of Honduras since 2014.
During his presidency, he appeared as an ally of the United States in the war on drugs. Hernandez was elected for a second term in the 2017 presidential election. The United States gave its approval to the election result, even if the country’s constitution did not allow the president a second term.
However, drug smugglers caught in the United States said his insiders had taken bribes from drug districts.
Ex-president’s brother Tony Hernandez was found guilty of drug smuggling in New York in 2019. He was sentenced to life in prison last spring.
In February 2022, Hernandez’s alleged accomplice Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez also sentenced to life in prison for smuggling thousands of pounds of cocaine.
Hernandez lost the Left Party in the presidential election last November Xiomara Castrollewho became the first female president of Honduras.