Once celebrated as a key partner in the U.S. war on drugs, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández now stands accused of facilitating the movement of over 500 tons of cocaine through his country en route to America. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump hailed Hernández as a “key partner” who was “working with the United States very closely.”
The trial, expected to last several weeks, is revealing a dramatic fall from grace. Prosecutors painted a picture on Wednesday of the deep-seated corruption allegedly plaguing Honduran politics as they accuse the 55-year-old Hernández of helping drug lords and cartels.
Double Life, Notorious Drug Lords
In a rare U.S. case against a former head of state, federal prosecutors said Hernández lived a double life.
Notorious drug lords, including imprisoned …