Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in establishing a “cocaine superhighway” to the United States. This conviction comes from a Manhattan federal court. It highlights Hernández’s reported ploy with other notorious drug barons to flood the U.S. with cocaine. During his tenure, Honduras became not only a major transit point for but an assembly line-style production hub for South American cocaine.
The U.S. prosecutors claimed Hernández was the most important drug trafficker on the planet. They charged him with moving billions of dollars’ worth of cocaine into the United States. His administration has been accused of turning Honduras into a narco-state. Coca plantations and roving, makeshift laboratories where cocaine is processed pepper the landscape. As a right-wing ally of the U.S., Hernández’s strong personal ties with American officials have developed an anti-Hernández narrative that purple-washed his criminal activities.
Hernández, according to millions of dollars in bribe allegations, reportedly enriched himself through corruption and graft. He had previously colluded with Latin American druglords before coming to office. He allegedly boasted about his contributions to the drug trade, stating, “Let’s stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.” Taken together, these allegations paint a horrifying picture of a drug kingpin masquerading as a leader. Meanwhile, this leader is still receiving support from U.S. authorities.
The drama over Hernández blew up when Trump tried to pardon him. This action raised profound questions about the coherence of U.S. drug policy. It understates the potential impact of this policy on ongoing counter-drug efforts in Central America. Critics say pardoning a figure like Hernández shoots a gaping hole into the generally hard-line stance Trump has taken toward drug trafficking.
“It’s crazy … it really undermines his hard-line ‘war on drugs’ position,” said Ioan Grillo, a journalist who has extensively covered drug trafficking in Latin America.
Political pundits assume Trump’s motivations would be driven by ideological and political self-interest rather than effective anti-drug policies. Orlando Pérez commented, “It is ideological. It is political. It is self-interested in terms of advancing an ideological agenda – and it has nothing to do with effective anti-drug policies.”
He has extensive and deep ties to organized crime going back decades. Money laundering The allegations claim that during the time he ran the country, he colluded with drug kingpins to increase his influence and wealth. His brother, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández—who did active campaigning for his brother’s presidential campaign—was later convicted on multiple drug-related charges including conspiracy to import cocaine.
Now new revelations about Trump’s pardon smartening up process are emerging. That poses questions over the disparate treatment between different folks in the drug trade. Grillo further noted, “So if [Donald Trump] is giving this guy a pardon, why is he not giving [the also incarcerated Mexican cartel boss] Chapo Guzmán a pardon? El Chapo Guzmán is less of a figure in the drug world than Juan Orlando Hernández was.”
The ex-president’s defenders and supporters cry political persecution, claim that the ex-prez was framed, and insist that he’s innocent. Trump himself stated, “The people of [Honduras] really thought he was set up and it was a terrible thing.”
According to several blistering reports, Hernández’s administration actively created a perfect storm of conditions for rampant drug trafficking to flourish. This atmosphere was responsible for the increased violence. Vigil, an expert on narco-terrorism, remarked, “He’s killed approximately 80 people, destroyed approximately 20 boats, and he has not provided any concrete evidence that they were carrying drugs.” He argued that Hernández’s operations were different than those of a typical cartel. He did not mince words about the terrifying, war-like drug trade that took over Hernández’s presidency.
Hernández’s case illustrates the most egregious dangers of lack of accountability and governance in Honduras. Second, it raises serious questions about the effectiveness of U.S. policies aimed at stopping drug trafficking routes through Central America. Yet analysts caution that absent deep and binding change, Honduras will likely remain incapable of truly beating back its narcotics scourge.