Journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez He said that during the trial of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was found guilty by a New York jury on three counts of drug and weapons trafficking, there was a lot of talk about The Sinaloa Cartel and its former leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

“A country (Honduras) with access to both oceans, a state that should contribute to the receipt of dividends for progress, which, on the contrary, was a misfortune for them, because in this era of drug trafficking, Honduras found itself in the grip of mercy, the first of Colombian criminal organizationswho no longer had routes through the Caribbean and Miami, they were looking for new routes in Central America,” he explained in Aristegui live.

“But, on the other hand, they were also victims of the ambitions and notorious influence of the Mexican cartels, there was a lot of talk at the trial, in particular about the Sinaloa cartel, “El Chapo Guzman”, which from Guatemala entered Honduras to take advantage of the exit from the Pacific Ocean and thus, transport drugs to Mexico“he added.

On March 8, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) was found guilty of crimes. three counts of drug trafficking and guns by a New York jury after a trial that lasted just over two weeks.

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Hernandez, who is now waiting for referee Kevin Castel to dictate his decision. The verdict will be pronounced on October 18 next yearThus, he will become the most senior Latin American leader to be convicted of drug trafficking since 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 Medellin cartel.

On March 11, the journalist told how the trial ended: a moment he called dramatic because of what the former official said.

“It all ended dramatically when the former president, having already been found guilty of these three charges, walked out of the courtroom, turned to the audience and exclaimed:tell the world I’m innocent”and then left under the protection of these two guards, who never left his side,” he added.

Moreover, he argued that although during the trial Hernandez tried to defend himself using various evidence and keeping in mind the plans that he implemented against drug trafficking during his mandate, it did not work, since one of the prosecutors even mentioned that the Honduran was in The core of the largest drug conspiracy in the world.

“As he said this, the feeling continued to be in the air that the prosecutor’s office had built a case rich in testimony from imprisoned drug dealers, but very poor in terms of presenting evidence to support bribes that the prosecutor’s office did not provide. tired of exposing so much, just like the witnesses they brought to this trial,” explained the journalist who had access to the trial.

With this in mind, he explained that Hernandez will appeal claiming that his legal team poorly defended him at the outset of the case, in addition to the fact that evidence was needed at trial to prove that he was involved in a conspiracy to facilitate the importation 500 tons of cocaine in the USA in exchange for millions of dollars.

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“He has already stated that he was poorly defended, so he is certainly going to use this argument again, and will also, of course, complain about the lack of evidence, in fact, about the belief in bribes that they could not prove, or about some bank account, it was always through a third party, his brother or his sister, in short, he is going to use many arguments, he is going to appeal. It’s very difficult for him to win the appeal,” he said.

Watch the full interview: