Honduras president rejects US accusation of El Chapo connection

A US federal court accused the brother of Honduras' president of being a "violent drug trafficker of epic proportions." Prosecutors allege President Juan Orlando Hernandez has received millions in drug money bribes.



Honduras' president Juan Orlando Hernandez was labeled a co-conspirator in an investigation by a US federal court into his brother Juan Antonio Hernandez, who was accused of smuggling massive amounts of cocaine into the United States for years with the help of the Honduran government.

Juan Antonio Hernandez has been in prison in New York since 2018, after he was arrested in Miami. He pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and for lying to authorities.

"The defendant was protected by and had access to his brother, the current sitting president of Honduras, a man who himself has received millions of dollars in drug money bribes," Manhattan prosecutor Jason Richman said on Wednesday.

Richman said Juan Antonio Hernandez had received bribes from "some of the largest cocaine traffickers in the world," including drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and the Sinaloa cartel, who allegedly "personally delivered $1 million to the defendant for his brother."

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https://www.dw.com/en/honduras-president-rejects-us-accusation-of-el-chapo-connection/a-50686509