Former Honduran president receives 45-year prison sentence on drug, gun charges

A federal court in New York on Wednesday sentenced Juan Orlando Hernández to 45 years behind bars and five years supervised release for cocaine importation and gun-related offenses. A jury convicted Hernandez in early March after a three-week trial.

What exactly did Hernández do? While he was serving as president of Honduras, Hernández abused his power to support one of the biggest drug trafficking operations in the world, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. He helped drug smugglers import more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, according to court documents. His co-conspirators used AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers to guard the drugs while they were en route to the United States. As a result of helping the traffickers, Hernández received millions of dollars in payments. U.S. officials worked with Honduras to extradite him to the United States in April 2022.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Hernández’s conviction earlier this year.