“You heard the testimony of different drug dealers coincide in date and location,” the prosecutor told jurors in his closing argument on Wednesday, March 6. He, of course, obscured the right of government officials to rehearse testimony with different drug-related witnesses as many times as necessary, precisely for the purpose of bringing them into compliance during peak trial times.

However, in turn, in the witness chair, a couple of meters to the left of the judge who oversaw this case that led to Tony Hernandez’s life sentence, his brother, former President Juan Orlando, was able to demonstrate everything that he, from his vision, had done to help fight drug trafficking in Honduras.

“As a deputy, I introduced the extradition law and the confiscation law. As president, I executed them as soon as I became leader,” Orondo says. He also proudly boasts hundreds of properties and bank accounts expropriated from drug organizations operating in Honduras such as Cachiros, Valle Valle, Montes, almost all of which are linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and Chapo Guzman. He talks about the police corporations created under his administration, and highlights the nearly 40 meetings he had with officials from the US government, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. It details how I work closely with General John Kelly, an operator at U.S. Southern Command. Visits to the White House, meetings with Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden. “I made plans with everyone and followed through,” he boasts.

“These were all ploys to hide his criminal activities,” the prosecutor’s office responds to the resume of a man who positions himself as an accomplice, not a rival, of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.

“For example, in this photo you are at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and you are hugged by accused drug trafficker Giovani Fuentes,” the prosecutor points out.
“Yes, I think it’s me, but if you noticed, my face looks lighter than the others,” JOE tries to defend himself. “In Honduras they said that this photo was a montage,” he adds.
– Did you go to the 2010 World Cup, yes or no? – Already a little desperate, the prosecutor asks.
“Yes, I’m going,” whispers the accused.

“It’s absurd that he says he doesn’t know Giovani because they were neighbors,” a Honduran journalist sitting next to me during cross-examination tells me. Juan Orlando looks worried, although firm. He knows that photos and testimonies of drug traffickers looking for profit are not as strong evidence as a recording of their voice or video, even a bank account, something that proves bribes, as prosecutors and witnesses never tire of repeating.

It’s not that the lack of evidence will exonerate him, but it opens the door to appeal.

Finally, his testimony promised to be the star act of this trial, and he more than delivered.

– Did you receive bribes from Chapo Guzman? “His lawyer Colon is coming back to try to clear his image.
– No, sir.
-Did you protect him?
– Not at all
– Did you protect or receive bribes from Kachiro?
– Never, quite the opposite. I expropriated their property and conducted an investigation.
– But you never arrested or extradited them? – the young prosecutor asks in turn.
“I ordered the Ministry of State to investigate them and asked the United States why they did not request extradition,” says Juan Orlando Hernandez, whose firmness is surprising.

“He is very strong, he will not be broken,” the personal pastor of the former President of Honduras, who also sat next to me for a couple of days in my VIP seat in the second row, two meters from the podium, tells me. The accused he assigned to me during the trial. Throughout the entire process there is a security guard who guards the premises on the 26th floor with a fighting spirit. “I talk to him every day and I hear him very loud,” the religious man tells me, who explains that he has lived in the US for 35 years.

“Juan Orlando Hernandez is a major drug trafficker,” the prosecution began with its closing argument. “He was at the center of the largest drug conspiracy in the world,” exaggerates the civil servant.

“I grew up in New York. “I ask you to use your street smarts acquired in this city, because New Yorkers are not easy to deceive,” defense attorney Renata Stabile strengthens in her conclusion. “You expected to see audio and video, but there wasn’t,” he reminds them. “Murderous collaborators? Everyone knows the Maya Angelou quote: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” But the government tells you to leave the murders aside, but you can’t, there’s nowhere to hide them,” incites Stabile, who arrived to reinforce the defense team a few weeks before the trial began.

However, the prosecution insists: “This is a process that combines drug trafficking, corruption and violence. Put all the evidence together and you will see that when he was President of Honduras, the defendant received millions of dollars in bribes to use to his advantage and to protect the criminal organizations with which he was associated.

“Find him guilty, please.”

The verdict for Juan Orlando Hernandez will be known between Thursday and Friday.