New York court convicts former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández of drug trafficking

Juan Orlando Hernández, former president of Honduras, was found guilty of drug trafficking by a jury in a federal court in New York. The decision was made after a historic trial that could lead to life in prison.

"Hernández, who according to the Prosecutor's Office created a ‘narco-State’ during the eight years of his presidency (2014-2022), was found guilty of the crimes of conspiring to traffic drugs and weapons and of possessing weapons. The penalty will be known later," explained the AFP agency.

Hernández served as president of Honduras between 2014 and 2022. Specifically, he was accused of taking advantage of his position to protect numerous drug traffickers in exchange for large sums of money, which he would later use to finance his campaigns.

These funds catapulted the career of a young congressman, leading him to become one of the youngest presidents in the history of the country. At certain times, he was considered a strong ally of the United States in containing migration and fighting drug trafficking in Latin America.

The former president was arrested at his residence in Tegucigalpa in February 2022, just three months after the end of his term. In April of the same year, he was extradited to the United States, accused of alleged crimes committed on U.S. soil.

For years, federal prosecutors in New York carried out investigations into criminal organizations linked to drug trafficking in Honduras, hoping to identify the key figure in the case, who was Hernández himself.