Juan Orlando Hernández writes himself into the history books in an unattractive way. He is one of three former presidents convicted of drug trafficking in the United States. US justice authorities believe the former president of Honduras was central to one of the largest and most violent drug networks in the world. He allowed brutal drug lords to operate almost with impunity. People in Honduras and the United States paid the price. “He sold the land to drug traffickers for his own gain,” according to the court papers, writes InSight Crime. Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in prison in New York last week. He was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. Long before that, he was involved in drug crime, according to US authorities. Hernández contributed to 400 tons of cocaine being smuggled through Honduras to the United States from 2004. He collaborated with Latin America’s biggest drug lords such as “El Chapo”. The payment was millions of dollars in bribes. Drug money was used to win the presidential elections in 2013 and 2017. At the same time, the slogan was fight against drug crime. He used the military and the police for the smuggling. The former president claims he is innocently convicted and persecuted by politicians and drug traffickers. – I was falsely and unjustly accused, the 55-year-old ex-president said in court, according to the news agencies. – Used violence and murder The USA was one of the first countries to approve the election, when Hernández was re-elected in 2017. The opposition believed it was electoral fraud. This led to large demonstrations. Around 30 people were killed. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in connection with the 2017 election, when Hernandez was elected for a second term. Photo: ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP The US saw him as an ally in the war on drugs. He received tens of millions of dollars in support for the military and the police. Eventually the US authorities discovered what was happening. Three months after Hernández stepped down as president, he was arrested at his home in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The fall was enormous. After eight years as the country’s supreme leader, he was shown in public in handcuffs. A few months later he was extradited to the United States. American authorities believe he “protected and enriched drug traffickers in his inner circle.” They gave him cocaine money which enabled him to come to power and stay in office”. Hernández admitted in court that drug money was paid to almost every political party in Honduras. But denied that he himself accepted bribes. Criminals from competing networks were extradited to the United States. The supporters “used violence and murder to protect their drug connections”, write the justice authorities. Another murder victim is taken care of by crime technicians in the capital Tegucigalpa. Photo: ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP Murderers in the witness box During the trial, drug traffickers who admitted that they were behind dozens of murders testified. They claimed Hernández protected drug lords such as the Mexican “El Chapo”. He led one of the world’s most brutal drug cartels, Sinaloa, until he was arrested and extradited to the United States. Now “El Chapo” is serving a life sentence behind American walls. Mexico’s most famous drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was extradited to the United States in 2017. Photo: AP The head of the US drug agency, DEA, Anne Milgram, confirms the close ties. – When the leader in Honduras and the leader of the Sinaloa cartel work closely together to send drugs to American communities, both deserve to be held accountable in the United States. That’s what Milgram said, when the ex-president was found guilty in March this year. Hondurans outside the courtroom in New York with a photo of one of the victims of the drug networks in their home country. Photo: AP – The sentence is too lenient Many Hondurans showed up outside the courtroom in New York. Several carried pictures of relatives who have been killed by the drug gangs. – I don’t think 45 years in prison is enough. He has destroyed the lives of many Hondurans and ruined several families. That’s what Rebecca Lopez says to the AP news agency. Hernández is not the first in the network to be convicted of drug trafficking. In 2021, the brother, Juan Antonio Hernández, was sentenced in the United States. – Many are dissatisfied with the sentence against the former president. The brother got 40 years in prison plus life, says journalist Jennifer Avila Reyes to news. Now the wife will become president The wife of the former president, Ana Garcia de Hernández, is standing as the presidential candidate for her husband’s conservative party in the election next year. She believes the man has been convicted innocently. – He who fought against the criminals has received a longer sentence than the worst murderers, Hernández said at a press conference in the capital. The wife of the former president of Honduras, Ana García, at a press conference after the man was sentenced in the United States. Photo: Juan Orlando Hernandez / AFP Honduras is one of the world’s most violent countries, although the number of murders has decreased in recent years. Over 2,300 people were killed in 2022. At the latest in May of this year, police were looking for the remains of 40 people in the big city of San Pedro Sula. They were probably killed by the criminal gangs in the city that has been called the murder capital of the world. Tens of thousands of people flee the violence-ravaged country north to greater safety in the United States every year. The police in San Pedro Sula are searching for the remains of at least 40 people who were probably executed by one of the criminal gangs in the city. Photo: ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP – Placed people on the inside of the state The ex-president will probably have to spend the rest of his life in American prisons. The sentence nevertheless has little significance for the drug traffic and corruption in the home country. – It is impossible within two years to remove the drug state that Hernandez built up. This is what Mike Vigil, former agent of the US drug police, DEA, told the AFP news agency. Honduras’ new resident Xiomara Castro has a tough job trying to shut down drug crime in the country. Photo: ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP Left party Xiomara Castro took over from Hernández in 2022 and became the country’s first female president. The fight against drug crime is one of her most important issues. It is not easy when both the police, the military, judges and politicians have connections to the drug networks. – Cartels still influence politicians, and black money makes up a large part of the country’s economy, says journalist Reyes to news. The country’s security minister, Gustavo Sanchez, also recently admitted how difficult it is. “They cut off the head of the criminal structure,” but “the business lives on,” Sanchez said. – Extradition to the USA is most important because the cocaine trade in Honduras is still flourishing. – Some cartels have been weakened. Others have established themselves, says journalist Reyes. Heavily armed police patrol the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa. The government has extended the state of emergency that was introduced in 2022. Photo: ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP The government is promising rewards for information on wanted drug lords and has issued several arrest warrants for extradition to the United States. – Extradition is the most important measure to stop the drug lords, says Vigil. Because in Honduras they can still operate almost with impunity because of the drug state Hernández built up. Published 06.07.2024, at 11.30 p.m
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Ex-president sentenced to 45 years in prison for cocaine smuggling – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
