Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

US: Honduran president's brother found guilty of drug trafficking

US: Honduran president's brother found guilty of drug trafficking

Prosecutors say Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernandez relied on 'state-sponsored drug trafficking' enabled by his brother.
Honduran politician Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernandez was found guilty of United States drug trafficking charges on Friday after a two-week trial that featured dramatic accusations of corruption against his brother, the Central American nation's president.

The verdict against Hernandez, 41, on all counts, was handed up by a jury in federal court in Manhattan. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17 and faces up to life in prison.

"They reached a verdict that was inconsistent with the truth," one of Hernandez's lawyers, Omar Malone, told journalists outside the court. "We plan to appeal on behalf of Mr Hernandez."

Members of Hernandez's family who attended the trial were swarmed by protesters as they left the court. Some protesters chanted "Fuera JOH", meaning "Out with JOH", referring to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Tony Hernandez was arrested in Miami in 2018 and charged with drug trafficking and possessing illegal weapons. US prosecutors accused him of helping smuggle almost 200,000kg (200 tonnes) of cocaine into the United States while enjoying the protection of his brother. President Hernandez has repeatedly denied the allegation.

In a Twitter post, he said that he received news of the verdict with "great sadness". The verdict was "based on testimonies of confessed murderers", he said, referring to former drug traffickers who cooperated with US authorities in the trial.

The two-week trial featured testimony from Honduran drug traffickers who are now in US custody and cooperating with authorities, including, Amilcar Alexander Ardon, a former mayor, and Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, former leader of Honduras's Cachiros gang.

Some of the most explosive testimony was from Ardon, who told jurors that Tony Hernandez promised Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman protection for his shipments in exchange for a one-million-dollar donation to his brother's presidential campaign in 2013.

Rivera Maradiaga, who admitted to murdering 78 people, testified that he paid bribes to multiple officials including Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Tony Hernandez's lawyers urged jurors not to trust the prosecutors' cooperating witnesses, describing them as career criminals willing to lie to get their prison sentences reduced.

The president, who began his second term in January 2018 amid allegations of electoral fraud, has not been charged with a crime. He has represented himself as tough on narcotics and responsible for breaking up the six most powerful cartels in Honduras and extraditing 24 traffickers to the US. He said traffickers were using his brother's trial to seek revenge.

Honduras is under pressure from US President Donald Trump to curb migration to the US. Honduras and the US struck a deal last month on asylum seekers.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×