Former Honduran president appears in NYC, takes stand in drug trafficking trial

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández took the stand Tuesday at his New York trial, denying charges he protected drug dealers in exchange for bribes.

Prosecutors say Hernandez, who served as president from 2014 to 2022, used his Central American nation’s military and police to help drug dealers move cocaine through the country on its way to America. In the U.S., he was often viewed by Democratic and Republican administrations as beneficial to American interests in the region.

Hernandez denied helping drug traffickers or accepting bribes and cast himself as a crusader against drug trafficking who did everything he could to help the United States in its pursuit of drug dealers, including by extraditing about two dozen individuals.