A court in New York on Wednesday, June 26, sentenced Juan Orlando Hernandez to 45 years in prison.
The former Honduran President was convicted of helping cartels to traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine into the US in March.
The sentence also included an $8 million (roughly €7.5 million) fine.
The prison term fell short of the life sentence prosecutors had sought, however, given the 55-year-old’s age, he is likely to die behind bars.
Judge P. Kevin Castel said the sentence should serve as a warning to “well educated, well dressed” individuals who gain power and think their status will insulate them from justice.
“I am innocent,” Hernandez said through an interpreter in court on Wednesday. “I was wrongly and unjustly accused.”
He’d also previously indicated he would appeal the conviction.
Protesters gathered outside the New York court on Wednesday with banners calling for an end to the drugs trade and pictures of people who had died as a result of it in…
Source: Linda Ikeji
