New York jury deliberates in drug trafficking trial of Honduras ex-president / Photo: KENA BETANCUR - AFP/File
-
Carrick backs Dalot after hostile reception from Manchester United fans
-
Comet returns as online electrical marketplace 14 years after collapse
-
Aston Villa Defy History With Rare Victory at Old Trafford
-
Brussels Education Unions Schedule Major November Protest Over Funding and Reforms
-
Crowds Gather at San Francisco Park for Elizabeth Holmes Lookalike Tournament
-
Hillcrest and Equipmake Sign Definitive Agreement to Jointly Develop and License ZVS Inverter Technology for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles
-
New 401k Gold IRA Investment Guide Explains the Best Way to Invest in Gold for Retirement (2026 Update)
-
Making Your Home Safer for Aging Parents: Accessibility Renovations That Add Value
-
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - November 09
-
DataMEDS AI Announces Corexa Pharmacy's First Commercial Sale of Compounded Peptides Under FDA Enforcement Discretion Policy
-
Opti Digital Launches NEXA, an AI-Powered Intelligence Layer
-
Pace Launches Three-Business-Day Culture-Based 'L. pneumophila' Testing
-
Tintina Mines Intersects 460m at 0.50% CuEq at the Dos Amigos Copper-Gold Project in Chile
-
HyProMag USA Advances North Texas Rare Earth Magnet Facility With First Major Equipment Delivery
-
Ispire Technology Inc. Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2027 Financial Results
-
Silver Storm Reports Concentrate Deliveries from La Parrilla
-
CoTec Holdings Corp. Notes HyProMag USA Advances North Texas Rare Earth Magnet Facility With First Major Equipment Delivery
-
Nextech3D.ai Closes $720,000 Management-Led Private Placement
-
iPS Cell Research Accelerates Drug Discovery for ALS and Spinal Cord Injury
-
Central Tokyo Apartment Rents Forecast to Rise 11% by 2030
New York jury deliberates in drug trafficking trial of Honduras ex-president
A New York jury began deliberations Thursday in the trial of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on charges of drug trafficking, including the transfer of hundreds of tons of cocaine through his country to the United States.
The 55-year-old Hernandez was extradited to the United States in 2022, accused of aiding drug smugglers in return for millions of dollars in bribes.
The jury received instructions from Judge Kevin Castel late Thursday afternoon after hearing more than two weeks of testimony.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Hernandez, whose 2014 to 2022 stint as president was plagued by allegations of corruption, is accused of having facilitated the smuggling of some 500 tons of cocaine -- mainly from Colombia and Venezuela -- to the United States via Honduras since 2004, starting long before his presidency.
US prosecutors say Hernandez turned Honduras into a "narco-state" by involving the military, police and civilians in drug trafficking.
Hernandez used the drug money to enrich himself and finance his political campaign, and commit electoral fraud in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, prosecutors allege.
As president, Hernandez worked closely with the administration of former US president Donald Trump, winning Washington's praise for his government's work in drug seizures and the fight against organized crime.
But according to the prosecution, that work was all a facade.
"He arrested people who had no ties to him, but he protected others," former US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Mikel Vigil told AFP before the trial started.
Hernandez has insisted he is innocent and the "victim of a vendetta."
During the trial, the defense cast doubt on the testimony of witnesses -- most of whom were drug traffickers cooperating with US prosecutors in exchange for reduced sentences -- saying their version of events could not be trusted.
Two of Hernandez's co-defendants, former Honduran police chief Juan Carlos "Tiger" Bonilla and ex-policeman Mauricio Hernandez, pleaded guilty last month to drug trafficking.
If found guilty, Hernandez would follow in the footsteps of other former Latin American heads of state convicted in the United States, like Panama's Manuel Noriega in 1992 and Guatemala's Alfonso Portillo in 2014.
L.Miller--AMWN
