U.S. Prosecutors Filed Motion Against Honduras President for helping Drug Traffickers

New York – Federal prosecutors in the United States filed a motion on Friday, January 8, 2021, in the southern District of New York, accusing the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, for receiving bribe from drug traffickers to provide protection for them in their illicit drug trade.

According to the motion, President Hernandez has received money and campaign assistance in 2013 and 2017 from drug traffickers and for using his country’s military to hide drug laboratory and help them ship cocaine into the United States.

Mr. Hernandez came to power 2013, reelected 2017 and will be completing his second term in 2022. President Hernandez has not been charged yet, but he has denied all allegations, claiming that these drug traffickers are out to get him because his government has been vigorously cracking down on them.

Honduras Ambassador to the United States; Luis Fernando Suazo, rejected allegations against his boss, claiming the confessions from these drug traffickers cannot be believed as they were only making them just to undermine faith in President Hernandez and to get reduce sentences for their crimes. Ambassador Suazo described the allegation as “Baseless”.

In 2017, during the trial of Mexican drug Kingpin El Chapo Guzman, there were allegations that President Hernandez received money from the Mexican to help these drug traffickers in their cocaine operations, accusation the president and his supporters fearlessly denied.

Furthermore, President Hernandez’s brother, Juan Antonio Hernandez was convicted in 2019 on charges of drug trafficking. It was during that trial that accusations of the president receiving money to use the military to protect these traffickers were first made and in new motion from United States federal prosecutors mentioned those claims in their motion to the Southern District of New York.

Although Mr. Hernandez is not directly named in the motion, the motion refers to him as CC-4, which many who follow Honduras’ politics know is associated with President Hernandez and his party. With this new information, and with allegation of corruption, Hondurans opposition has renewed calls for his resignation.  

President Hernandez has been an asset to the United States government in its fight to control illegal immigration from South America and for fighting illegal drug from entering the country. If proven to be true, this will be a big blow to President Hernandez’s reputation. The incoming president Joseph Biden will have to decide whether to continue working with Mr. Hernandez government or change course.