Juan Orlando Hernández, the former President of Honduras, has been convicted in a Manhattan federal court of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related firearms offenses. The conviction comes after a federal jury found Hernández guilty on all three counts in the indictment.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland expressed, “Juan Orlando Hernández 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.”
Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) added, “When the leader of Honduras and the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel work hand-in-hand to send deadly drugs into American communities, both deserve to be held accountable in the United States.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York stated, “Juan Orlando Hernández had every opportunity to be a force for good in his native Honduras. Instead, he chose to abuse his office and country for his own personal gain and partnered with some of the largest and most violent drug trafficking organizations in the world to transport tons of cocaine to the United States.”
According to court documents, Hernández, who served as the former two-term president of Honduras and former president of the Honduran National Congress, was at the center of a large and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy. He abused his authority to facilitate the importation of cocaine into the United States and received millions of dollars in drug money from various drug-trafficking organizations.
Hernández was convicted of three counts, including conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during the cocaine-importation conspiracy. The former president is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The investigation into Hernández's criminal activities involved the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs played a crucial role in securing Hernández's arrest and extradition.
Hernández's conviction serves as a warning to corrupt politicians involved in drug trafficking activities. The Justice Department remains committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals responsible for drug trafficking networks that harm communities.