A New York court sentenced former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to 45 years in prison on Wednesday. The reason: He was convicted of smuggling large quantities of cocaine into the USA. Protesters gathered outside the courthouse in Manhattan and held up signs denouncing Hernandez's crimes.

Judge Kevin Castel stated, “Mr. Hernandez's role was to use his political power as President of Congress and President of Honduras to limit the risks of drug trafficking for money.” Castel pointed out that Hernandez provided police and military support and facilitated the shipment of 400 tons of drugs valued at $10 billion to the United States at market prices.

The sentence, which included an $8 million fine, was less than the life sentence prosecutors had sought. However, because Hernandez is 55, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Hernandez's lawyer has indicated he intends to appeal the verdict.

Prosecutors accuse Hernandez of turning Honduras into a “narcotic state” during his presidency from 2014 to 2022. In March, he was convicted of facilitating the smuggling of around 500 tons of cocaine, mainly from Colombia and Venezuela, through Honduras to the United States since 2004, long before his presidency. Hernandez is accused of using the drug money to enrich himself, finance his political campaigns and commit electoral fraud in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.

Initially, Hernandez presented himself as a champion of the war on drugs and was seen by Washington as an ally in that fight. In 2017, the United States was among the first countries to recognize his re-election, despite accusations of fraud by the opposition and violent protests that left around 30 people dead.

Hernandez's downfall was swift. Immediately after the transfer of power to the new left-wing president Xiomara Castro, the ex-president was handcuffed and paraded before journalists. He joins the ranks of other former Latin American heads of state who have been convicted in the United States, such as Manuel Noriega of Panama in 1992 and Alfonso Portillo of Guatemala in 2014.