Central America
Former president of Honduras found guilty of drug trafficking by U.S. justice
The prosecution, alleging that the former president created a narco-state during his presidency (2014-2022), accused him of conspiring to traffic drugs to the United States, as well as conspiring to traffic arms, offenses that carry potential life sentences.
Former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, was declared guilty of drug trafficking and arms trafficking by a federal jury in New York on Friday, concluding a landmark trial that could see him spend the rest of his life in prison.
On its second day of deliberations, the 12-member jury announced its unanimous verdict shortly before 13:30 local time, finding Hernández guilty on all three charges brought by the prosecution.
“I am innocent, tell the world, I love you,” Hernández said as he left the court, addressing his family, including two sisters-in-law, and the three generals who came to testify on his behalf in this trial.
Flanked by his lawyers, moments before Judge Kevin Castel called the parties to hear the verdict, 55-year-old Hernández appeared to be praying.
Afterwards, he reacted to the verdict by shaking his head in disbelief as the jury spokesperson responded to each of the judge’s questions to establish his guilt.
The prosecution, asserting that the former president created a narco-state during his presidency (2014-2022), accused him of conspiring to traffic drugs to the United States, as well as conspiring to traffic arms, offenses that carry potential life sentences.
The judge is yet to announce the former president’s sentence in the coming weeks or months.
According to the U.S. prosecution, Hernández participated in and protected a network that sent over 500 tons of cocaine to the United States between 2004 and 2022, while he was a congressman, president of the Congress, and later president of the Republic. In exchange, he allegedly received millions of dollars from cartels, including Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was sentenced to life in prison in the United States.
Extradited in April 2022 to the United States, three months after handing over the presidency to leftist successor Xiomara Castro, the convicted individual is known for the infamous phrase “We are going to put the drugs in their noses (to the Americans) and they won’t even notice,” according to a witness.
Asked by AFP, defense attorney Renato Stabile, with tears in his eyes, said that “obviously the verdict is harsh, but mentally, he is very strong.”
This staunch ally of Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021) once boasted about Washington’s praise for his government’s efforts in the fight against drug trafficking.
Prosecutor Jacob H. Gutwillig reminded the jury that while the accused publicly promoted laws against drug trafficking and the extradition of drug lords to the United States, he also met with U.S. officials behind closed doors. However, “none of this undoes what the accused did behind closed doors.”
“He is a drug trafficker,” Gutwillig concluded.
Since 2014, Honduras has extradited 38 people accused of drug trafficking to the United States. Others surrendered to U.S. authorities or were arrested outside the country.
Former police chief Juan Carlos “Tigre” Bonilla and former police officer Mauricio Hernández, who were to be tried with the former president, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking a few days before the trial began. Their sentences will be announced in the coming months.
Many of the dozen witnesses presented by the prosecution highlighted the corruption and close ties between politics and drug trafficking.
“The political elite, which is also the economic elite, has operated in complete impunity” over the past 15 years, since the 2009 coup, emboldened by “the support it received from foreign governments despite knowing that it was heavily involved in drug trafficking,” says American activist Karen Spring of the Honduras Solidarity Network to AFP.
“All state institutions are heavily penetrated by drug trafficking, particularly the police and the military,” she asserts.
Extradited in April 2022, three months after leaving office, the former president will follow in the footsteps of his brother Tony Hernández and Geovanny Fuentes, a close associate of his brother, who are serving life sentences in the United States, as well as Fabio Lobo, son of former President Porfirio Lobo (2010-2014), and lawmaker Fredy Renán Nájera, all convicted of drug trafficking.
Central America
Costa Rican President Presents Security Reform Package to Fight Crime and Strengthen Prisons
Costa Rican President Laura Fernández on Monday submitted a package of legislative proposals to the National Assembly aimed at strengthening public security, combating organized crime, and reforming the country’s prison system.
The president said the measures are designed to reinforce the government’s response to rising criminal violence and provide law enforcement authorities with stronger tools to confront growing security challenges.
Among the key initiatives is the proposed “Firm Hand Against Repeat Offenders Law,” which would establish mandatory pretrial detention for suspects accused of repeat criminal offenses, limiting judges’ ability to impose alternative precautionary measures.
The legislative package also includes the “Law to Combat Criminal Organizations,” which would impose prison sentences ranging from one to six years for individuals who participate in criminal groups. Penalties could increase to as much as 20 years for those linked to organizations involved in terrorism, drug trafficking, kidnapping, human trafficking, arms trafficking, or organ trafficking.
Another proposal, known as the “Zero Idleness in Prisons Law,” seeks to expand vocational training and paid work opportunities for inmates. Under the initiative, earnings generated by prisoners would help cover incarceration costs, support their families, and contribute to compensation for crime victims.
Fernández also introduced legislation aimed at expanding legal protections for police officers acting in self-defense and increasing penalties for individuals who assault or resist law enforcement personnel.
“It is now up to you, members of Congress, to make the decisions that our police officers and the families of crime victims have been waiting for,” the president told lawmakers as she urged them to support the reforms.
The president additionally highlighted progress on the construction of the High Containment Center Against Organized Crime (CACCO), a maximum-security prison modeled after the strategy implemented by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
According to Fernández, the project is currently 36 percent complete and forms part of a broader effort to strengthen Costa Rica’s capacity to confront organized crime and improve public safety.
The proposed reforms now move to the Legislative Assembly, where lawmakers will debate the measures and determine whether they will become part of Costa Rica’s legal framework in the coming months.
Central America
Nicaraguan media publishes photos of detained Indigenous leader amid calls for proof of life
A pro-government media outlet in Nicaragua published on Sunday a series of photographs showing Indigenous leader Steadman Fagoth Müller during a visit from his wife at the National Penitentiary System, days after an opposition alliance demanded proof of life, citing concerns that he could be a political prisoner subjected to enforced disappearance.
The images were shared by the outlet El 19 on its website, with a caption stating that the photos were taken during a scheduled prison visit on Friday, June 12, between Fagoth and his wife, Dr. Stefany Martínez.
The publication includes eleven photographs in which the Indigenous leader and former presidential adviser on Indigenous affairs appears seated with his wife in a room where two meals are served on a table. The images also carry a watermark indicating the date 12.06.2026 and the time 11:13.
The release of the photos comes after the opposition coalition Unidad Nacional Azul y Blanco called on the government of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to provide proof of life for at least nine political prisoners allegedly held in conditions of enforced disappearance, including Fagoth.
The request followed the recent death in state custody of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera Brayan, aged 73, which was reported by the Ministry of Health on May 31. Rivera had been arrested in September 2023.
Fagoth, a former presidential adviser on Indigenous policy, was detained by Nicaraguan police in September 2024 on allegations of attempting to “remove organic weapons” from the army.
His arrest came a day after local media circulated statements in which he criticized environmental damage caused by the arrival of armed non-Indigenous settlers in the Bosawás Reserve, a remote area near the Honduras border inhabited by Miskito and Mayangna communities.
The publication of the photographs has intensified scrutiny over the condition and legal status of detained opposition-linked figures in Nicaragua.
Central America
U.S. Authorities Accuse Guatemalan Nationals of Using False Information to Sponsor Migrant Minors
Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday criminal charges against three Guatemalan citizens accused of using false information to sponsor migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.
According to an indictment filed in Ohio, Maritza Cahuec Coc allegedly submitted at least 12 sponsorship applications, several of which were filed under aliases or contained materially false statements intended to secure custody of the minors.
Under U.S. procedures, unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the southern border are placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for their care until they can be released to a qualified sponsor, such as a parent or relative living in the United States.
Prosecutors allege that Cahuec Coc, who reportedly entered the United States illegally in 2018, received payments between late 2020 and 2023 for helping bring 12 migrant minors into the country. Authorities claim she submitted fraudulent documents and misleading information to obtain approval for the sponsorship requests.
The case was announced during a joint press conference led by Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. However, officials provided limited details about the investigation and instead focused much of their remarks on criticizing immigration policies implemented under the previous administration.
Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials have frequently pointed to the increase in unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border during President Joe Biden’s term, arguing that the government failed to adequately oversee their care and placement.
During Thursday’s briefing, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, alleged that Cahuec Coc used the identities of other individuals and falsely claimed family relationships in order to obtain custody of the children.
“Maritza submitted sponsorship applications using other people’s identities and falsely represented that the minors were the children of close relatives in order to secure their release,” Duva said.
The case remains under investigation, and federal authorities have not yet disclosed additional information regarding the other two Guatemalan nationals charged in connection with the alleged scheme.
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