VOA
The trial of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on US drug-trafficking prices started Tuesday, giving a New York jury an opportunity to find out whether or not Washington's key anti-drug ally has really managed the Central American nation as a “narco-state”.
Hernandez was near Washington throughout his 2014-2022 tenure. Honduras has acquired greater than $50 million in US anti-narcotics help and tens of thousands and thousands extra in safety and army support throughout his presidency, and has received former President Donald Trump's assist for the crackdown of migration.
However three months after he left workplace, federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused him of accepting thousands and thousands of {dollars} in bribes from cocaine traffickers in alternate for utilizing his place to guard them. Legal professional Common Merrick Garland stated he abused his energy to function the nation as a “narco-state.”
It got here almost three years after his brother, former Rep. Tony Hernandez, was convicted on US drug prices and sentenced to life in jail. A prosecutor in that trial stated Juan Orlando Hernandez protected his brother.
Juan Orlando Hernandez pleaded not responsible to 3 counts of conspiracy to import cocaine and unlawful possession of weapons. He has been held on the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Middle since his extradition in April 2022.
He faces a compulsory minimal sentence of 40 years and as much as life in jail if convicted on all counts. The trial started with jury choice on Tuesday and is predicted to final between two and three weeks.
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