Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez will face federal charges for importing hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Hernandez, who was extradited to the U.S., is alleged to have received millions of dollars in the form of bribes from multiple drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel. In exchange, Hernandez is claimed to have helped smuggle 500 tons of cocaine into the U.S., Damian Williams, a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said during a press conference Thursday evening.
“The charges we announce today seek to finally hold Juan Orlando Hernandez accountable for years of corruption, years of violence, and years of drug trafficking,” Williams said during the press conference.
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Hernandez abused his power as president for more than a decade, Willams said, adding that he used the money from the bribes to “enrich himself and fund his political campaigns.”
From at least 2004 to 2022, Hernandez, who served two terms as president, was involved in the drug trafficking scheme, according to a press release from the DOJ.
“We allege that during a meeting with a co-conspirator, Hernandez declared that he wanted, and I quote, ‘to stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos,'” Williams said, adding that the arrest was the result of years of hard work by his office and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Hernandez is facing three counts of conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S., which holds a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison; using, carrying, and possessing machine guns and other destructive devices while importing cocaine, which holds a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison; and conspiring to use and carry machine guns while delivering cocaine, which holds a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to the DOJ.
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The Honduran Supreme Court approved the extradition of Hernandez to the U.S. on March 28 after initially being approved by a judge March 16.
Hernandez, who has denied the charges brought against him, was arrested in February at the request of the U.S.
