Several Honduran politicians expressed their satisfaction this Friday and applauded that the country’s former president Juan Orlando Hernandez (2014–2022) was found guilty by a New York jury on three counts of drug and weapons trafficking.

Hernandez listened to the verdict stoically, making no gestures, but when he rose from his chair and left the room, he turned to the audience, looked at his two daughters-in-law – his wife did not go because the US denied it. her visa – and told them: “I am not guilty. I love you so much, tell the world“.

On June 26, Judge Kevin Castel will sentence Hernandez, who will become highest-ranking Latin American leader convicted of drug trafficking following the case of Panamanian Manuel Antonio Noriega, who was sentenced in 1992 by a Florida court to 40 years in prison for ties to the Colombian Medellin cartel.

He Chancellor of Honduras Eduardo Enrique Reinaindicated in a message to X that “Iustitiae factum est (justice has been done)” with Hernandez’s guilty plea.

“The international condemnation of former President Juan Orlando Hernández by those who previously applauded him confirms that our struggle (…) and the sacrifices of our people were not in vain. Blood of martyrs, seeds of freedom“,” deposed former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009), husband of current President Xiomara Castro, said in a post on X.

Official deputy Jorge Calix noted that the “historic verdict” against Hernandez is “a clear message that abuse of power has consequences.”

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“I hope that with him (Hernandez) all those who participate or were involved fall with drug trafficking, whoever it is. Power is not eternal, and those who use it for evil end badly,” said Calix, a deputy from the ruling Libertad and Rebirth party (Libre).

Kalix said that “now we have to work hard to wash the face of the country and move it forwardand asked to “leave the past behind, not forgetting it, so as not to make the same mistakes, but understanding that, working with love, Honduras can become a better country.”

The director of the National Anti-Corruption Council (CNA) of Honduras, Gabriela Castellanos, stated that “there is a culprit and many accomplices in the shadow of Honduran “justice” condemned to silence.”

The anti-corruption agency noted on its social networks that Hernandez “did not act alone. He surrounded himself with trustworthy people who were easy to manipulate. and weak morality in order to seize a state that suddenly lost the independence of its authorities and became an autocracy.”

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He added that “if our political class has any contextual intelligence, they will pay attention to this sobering milestone.”

“Let’s see if they learn from other people’s experiences and understand that no matter how much power they concentrate, sooner or later the empire will collapse“, said the ANC. (EFE)