Juan Orlando will face trial abandoned by his comrades

Former President of Honduras JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ Abandoned by his comrades, he faces the start of his trial this week in New York. Juan Carlos ‘El Tigre’ Bonilla And Mauricio Hernandez Pineda, two of his co-defendants, and who pleaded guilty earlier in the month.

Bonilla, who was head of the national police during the former president’s tenure, was the last to plead guilty to charges of “conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States” and possession and use of firearms to facilitate the transfer of drugs. .

Before, Hernández Pineda, cousin of JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ and a former national police officer, have already pleaded guilty to similar offences.

In the American judicial system, a guilty plea is usually accompanied by an agreement to a reduced sentence in exchange for cooperating with justice, helping arrest others involved, or disclosing the existence of a criminal conspiracy.

Perhaps anticipating the desperation of his situation, the former Honduran president sent a letter to his followers this Monday, published by his wife on social networks, in which he assured that the charges against him are “false and unjust” and that he is based on On the testimony of “Admitted Drug Trafficking”.

According to Hernández, these collaborators “are able to tell any lie to get revenge against me and reduce their sentences, not pay for their crimes against hundreds of Hondurans and get new identities for their families.”

Hernández was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa on February 15, 2022, and extradited to the United States on April 21 of the same year, which charged him with three counts of drug trafficking and the use of firearms to smuggle drugs into the country. .

The process was supposed to begin on February 5, but in recent days a judge granted Hernandez’s request to change lawyers and postponed it for a week.

It was the third adjournment of the closely followed case in the Latin American country for being the first indictment of a former Honduran ruler in the United States. Drug trafficking

A subsequent request by Juan Orlando Hernandez’s defense to postpone the trial again was denied. The process is expected to last four to six weeks, one of his lawyers told EFE. All three charges against him carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

A team of prosecutors from Honduras Public Ministry To assess whether what has emerged during the case warrants new procedures against the specified companies, people or groups in the Latin American country.

Hernández was president of Honduras for two terms of four years each (2014–2022), the second through questionable re-election, which the Honduran constitution does not allow in any form, and allegations of fraud by the opposition.

His term ended on January 27, 2022, and already in February officials reported that Washington had requested his extradition for drug trafficking and weapons use.

According to the US indictment, Hernandez was associated with a former Sinaloa cartel leader, JOAQUIN GUZMAN LOERAaka El Chapo, among other figures.

“In approximately 2013, while Hernandez was campaigning for president, he accepted approximately $1 million in drug trafficking proceeds from Guzmán Loera,” a Justice Department statement read.

Since 2014, the US has begun requesting the extradition of Hondurans to be tried for drug trafficking.

Between 2014 and 2024, around 40 Hondurans have been extradited, including former President Hernandez and his brother, Juan Antonio, who have already been sentenced to life in prison.