A defiant former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez was sentencedin New York Wednesday to 45 years in prison for teaming up with some bribe-paying drug traffickers for over a decade to ensure over 400 tons of cocaine made it to the United States.
Judge P. Kevin Castel sentenced Hern谩ndez to 45 years in a U.S. prison and fined him US$8 million, saying that the penalty should serve as a warning to 鈥渨ell educated, well dressed鈥 individuals who gain power and think their status insulates them from justice when they do wrong.
A jury convicted him in March in Manhattan federal court after a two-week trial, which was closely followed in his home country.
鈥淚 am innocent," Hern谩ndez said at his sentencing. "I was wrongly and unjustly accused.鈥
In a lengthy extemporaneous statement interrupted several times by the judge who repeatedly reminded him that this was not a time to relitigate the trial, Hern谩ndez portrayed himself as a hero of the anti-drug trafficking movement who teamed up with American authorities under three U.S. presidential administrations to reduce drug imports.
But the judge said trial evidence proved the opposite and that Hern谩ndez employed 鈥渃onsiderable acting skills鈥 to make it seem that he was an anti-drug trafficking crusader while he deployed his nation's police and military, when necessary, to protect the drug trade.
Castel called Hern谩ndez a 鈥渢wo-faced politician hungry for power" who protected a select group of traffickers.
As the sentence was announced, the bespectacled Hern谩ndez in a dull green prison uniform stood next to his lawyer in front of two U.S. marshals. After shaking hands with his lawyer and turning to nod toward the packed spectator section, Hern谩ndez hobbled out of court with the help of a cane and a brace on one foot.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of life in prison, plus 30 years, the same as the recommendation from the court's probation officers.
Hern谩ndez, 55, served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people.
He was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, three months after leaving office in 2022 and was extradited to the U.S. in April of that year.
U.S. prosecutors say Hern谩ndez worked with drug traffickers as long ago as 2004, taking millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from rural congressman to president of the National Congress and then to the country鈥檚 highest office.
Protestors signs and images victims of Honduran drug traffickers outside Federal court, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted for conspiring with drug traffickers. (John Minchilo/AP Photo)
Hern谩ndez acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself.
Hern谩ndez insisted in a lengthy statement made through an interpreter that his trial was unjust because he was not allowed to include evidence that would have caused the jury to find him not guilty. He said he was being persecuted by politicians and drug traffickers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 as if I had been thrown into a deep river with my hands bound,鈥 he said.
Trial witnesses included traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of murders and said Hern谩ndez was an enthusiastic protector of some of the world鈥檚 most powerful cocaine dealers, including notorious Mexican drug lord Joaqu铆n 鈥淓l Chapo鈥 Guzm谩n, who is serving a life prison term in the U.S.
During his remarks, the judge noted that Guzman had given a $1 million bribe in 2013 directly to Hern谩ndez's brother, Juan Antonio 鈥淭ony鈥 Hern谩ndez, a former Honduran congressman who was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison in 2021 in New York for his own conviction on drug charges.
As he announced the sentence, Castel spoke at length about the ways Hern谩ndez had received a fair trial and described much of the key evidence that emerged at trial to prove guilt.
He noted that Hern谩ndez only helped the drug traffickers who aided his political ambitions and not all the time.
鈥淣o, he was too smart for that,鈥 Castel said. The judge said Hern谩ndez aided traffickers whenever he could.
鈥淗is No. 1 goal was his own political survival,鈥 Castel said.
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