Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez has been sentenced by a US court to 45 years in jail for international drug trafficking.
Hernandez, who was president from 2014 to 2022, faced charges of assisting in the shipment of hundreds of tonnes of cocaine to the United States. He was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic drugs and weapons possession in March.
An additional sentencing order requires Hernandez to pay an $8 million fine.
"Juan Orlando Hernandez abused his position as president of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement in March.
Despite the charges, Hernandez maintains his innocence, claiming he is a “victim of cartel retaliation.”
US prosecutors argue, however, that he was involved in and protected a network responsible for shipping about 400 tonnes of cocaine to the United States between 2004 and 2022. His involvement is said to have spanned his time as a member of Congress, president of Congress, and president of the Republic.
In return, he allegedly received millions from cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel, led by well-known Mexican drug lord Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, who has since been convicted in the United States.
