A federal district court in New York sentenced former Honduran President Hernandez to 45 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle drugs into the United States.

According to the Associated Press and other sources, Hernandez has been involved with drug cartels since around 2004, and received large bribes while rising from a local council member to become president in 2014.

After that, while officially working on drug countermeasures, he secretly colluded with drug cartels.

He is accused of helping smuggle at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States before leaving office in 2022 and being arrested by police.

At the trial on the 26th, the judge described him as “a power-hungry politician with a dark side who protects a smuggling organization,” and sentenced him to 45 years in prison and a fine of approximately 1.28 billion yen.

Hernandez maintains his innocence.

Source: Japanese