By Sarah Kinosian
(Reuters) – A federal judge in New York on Tuesday sentenced a Honduran man who prosecutors linked to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and other top officials to life in prison plus 30 years for drug trafficking and related weapons charges.
Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez was convicted last March of smuggling drugs into the United States with the help of Hernandez, who was president from 2014 until last month when Xiomara Castro took office.
Hernandez, who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, has denied accusations of drug trafficking.
“Juan Orlando Hernandez didn’t just want the defendant’s cash, he wanted access to the defendant’s cocaine,” assistant U.S. attorney Michael Lockard said during the trial, referring to a cocaine lab Fuentes was said to have controlled in Honduras.
“On several occasions between approximately 2010 and 2013, Fuentes Ramirez helped arrange or directly participated in drug-related violence,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “Fuentes Ramirez also furthered his drug trafficking operation by bribing high-ranking Honduran officials.”
In addition to the life sentence plus 30 years, Fuentes Ramirez was sentenced to forfeit $151,724,375.
Since Fuentes’ guilty verdict in March 2021, Hernandez’ troubles have only deepened.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had last year placed the then president on a blacklist, denying him entry for corrupt or anti-democratic actions.
Blinken cited credible reports that Hernandez “has engaged in significant corruption by committing or facilitating acts of corruption and narco-trafficking, and using the proceeds of illicit activity to facilitate political campaigns.”
Hernandez, who left office last month, published an open letter in response to Blinken’s statement, touting his achievements in reducing street crime and curbing the trafficking of narcotics bound for the United States.
Last year, a U.S. judge sentenced Hernandez’s brother to life in prison plus 30 years for drug trafficking.
Last month, Hernandez was sworn in as a member of a regional organization called Parlacen, a Central American parliament, which gives him immunity from prosecution in the region.
(Reporting by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Robert Birsel)
