New York Southern District on Monday convicted drug trafficker Geovanny Fuentes, who assured he bribed Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernadez (JOH) for protection of his illegal activities.
RELATED:
The jury unanimously decided that Fuentes was guilty of the drug trafficking and firearms possession offenses with which he was charged in 2019.
Prosecutors also noted that all Honduran presidents since 2006, including JOH, received bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for protection and a promise not to be extradited.
"Hernandez instructed Fuentes to report directly to a convicted co-conspirator and former Hondura's congressman Tony Hernandez, the president’s brother," U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said.
"Now Fuentes, one of the criminal conduits between Honduran officials and drug traffickers, faces a possible life behind bars,” he added.
In 2009, the drug dealer established a cocaine laboratory in the Cortes department where "hundreds of kilograms of cocaine" were produced each month. In 2013, Fuentes paid a bribe of at least US$25,000 to JOH who was at the time the Congress' chairman.
U.S. Federal judge Kevin Castel will deliver Fuentes' sentence on June 22. He will also hand over on March 30 the verdict of Tony Hernandez, whose trial began last week.