Juan Orlando Hernández: Honduras ex-president gets 45 years for drug crimes

Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted of conspiring to import cocaine into the US and machine gun possession.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUK General ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessFuture of BusinessTechnology of BusinessWork CultureInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersHonduras ex-president gets 45 years for drug crimes21 hours agoBy Max Matza, BBC NewsShareGetty ImagesHernández addresses the UN General Assembly in 2021Juan Orlando Hernández, the ex-president of Honduras who was convicted of drug crimes in a US court, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Hernández was found guilty in March of conspiring to import cocaine into the US, and possessing "destructive devices" including machine guns.

Prosecutors in New York said he ran the Central American country like a "narco-state" and accepted millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers to shield them from the law.

“He paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States, protected by machine guns,” prosecutors said in their closing arguments ahead of his conviction.

As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay a fine of $8m (£6.3m).

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2ee4j1e0g6o

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