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| Honduran President’s Brother Is Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking | Honduran President’s Brother Is Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A New York jury convicted the brother of the president of Honduras on cocaine trafficking charges on Friday, ending a trial that offered a blueprint for the way drug money penetrated the highest levels of Honduran politics to buy protection and immunity. | A New York jury convicted the brother of the president of Honduras on cocaine trafficking charges on Friday, ending a trial that offered a blueprint for the way drug money penetrated the highest levels of Honduran politics to buy protection and immunity. |
| Since his brother’s arrest last year, a central question facing Hondurans is how President Juan Orlando Hernández could proclaim to be fighting drug traffickers while his brother was under investigation for allegedly running tons of cocaine to the United States. | Since his brother’s arrest last year, a central question facing Hondurans is how President Juan Orlando Hernández could proclaim to be fighting drug traffickers while his brother was under investigation for allegedly running tons of cocaine to the United States. |
| Over two weeks, a parade of witnesses — including several confessed drug traffickers — offered an answer: The president looked the other way in exchange for millions of dollars for his and his party’s political campaigns. | Over two weeks, a parade of witnesses — including several confessed drug traffickers — offered an answer: The president looked the other way in exchange for millions of dollars for his and his party’s political campaigns. |
| Among those who funneled money to the president’s brother, according to one witness, was Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the Mexican drug kingpin known as El Chapo. Mr. Guzmán is serving a life sentence in a maximum security federal prison. | Among those who funneled money to the president’s brother, according to one witness, was Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the Mexican drug kingpin known as El Chapo. Mr. Guzmán is serving a life sentence in a maximum security federal prison. |
| “These were bribes,” Assistant United States Attorney Emil J. Bove said of the payouts, and they “came with strings.” | “These were bribes,” Assistant United States Attorney Emil J. Bove said of the payouts, and they “came with strings.” |
| With this cash, drug traffickers “infiltrated the Honduran government and they controlled it,” Mr. Bove said. | With this cash, drug traffickers “infiltrated the Honduran government and they controlled it,” Mr. Bove said. |
| The jury found the president’s brother, Juan Antonio Hernández, known as Tony, guilty on all four charges, including lying to the Drug Enforcement Administration agents who first questioned him in 2016. He faces a possible life sentence. | |
| The defense said it plans to appeal. | |
| President Hernández, who was not charged but was described by prosecutors as a co-conspirator, has repeatedly denied the testimony of the prosecution witnesses, arguing that it came from confessed drug traffickers who were seeking revenge for his strong antidrug policies. | President Hernández, who was not charged but was described by prosecutors as a co-conspirator, has repeatedly denied the testimony of the prosecution witnesses, arguing that it came from confessed drug traffickers who were seeking revenge for his strong antidrug policies. |
| “What can be said about a verdict based on the testimony of confessed murderers?” he wrote on Twitter in response to the verdict. | “What can be said about a verdict based on the testimony of confessed murderers?” he wrote on Twitter in response to the verdict. |
| Throughout the trial, President Hernández has argued that his government had engaged in a fight against drug traffickers that past governments had failed to assume. | Throughout the trial, President Hernández has argued that his government had engaged in a fight against drug traffickers that past governments had failed to assume. |
| “There are now more than 40 narcos in Honduran custody,” he said in an English-language statement released during the trial. “Forty-three percent of the National Police was purged. Vast fortunes in criminal assets have been confiscated from the narcos.” | “There are now more than 40 narcos in Honduran custody,” he said in an English-language statement released during the trial. “Forty-three percent of the National Police was purged. Vast fortunes in criminal assets have been confiscated from the narcos.” |
| Dismissing the trial as “Alice in Wonderland,” the president wrote that the witnesses “kill police; they lie to prosecutors; they seek to reduce their sentences; they want revenge.” | Dismissing the trial as “Alice in Wonderland,” the president wrote that the witnesses “kill police; they lie to prosecutors; they seek to reduce their sentences; they want revenge.” |
| The evidence presented in the Manhattan courtroom seemed to have little effect on United States policy toward Mr. Hernández, a strong ally of Washington. | The evidence presented in the Manhattan courtroom seemed to have little effect on United States policy toward Mr. Hernández, a strong ally of Washington. |
| In a jarring juxtaposition on Wednesday, government prosecutors described “state-sponsored drug trafficking” in Honduras while the State Department extolled its strong relationship with its government. | In a jarring juxtaposition on Wednesday, government prosecutors described “state-sponsored drug trafficking” in Honduras while the State Department extolled its strong relationship with its government. |
| The United States Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, posted on Twitter about the two countries’ cooperation on migration, security and the fight against drugs. And President Trump announced the resumption of some aid to Honduras and its Central American neighbors, El Salvador and Guatemala, in response to their work on stemming migration. | The United States Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, posted on Twitter about the two countries’ cooperation on migration, security and the fight against drugs. And President Trump announced the resumption of some aid to Honduras and its Central American neighbors, El Salvador and Guatemala, in response to their work on stemming migration. |
| The verdict rested on jurors’ willingness to believe the testimony of five confessed drug traffickers who described how they worked with Tony Hernández to move cocaine through Honduras by plane, boat, truck and helicopter. | The verdict rested on jurors’ willingness to believe the testimony of five confessed drug traffickers who described how they worked with Tony Hernández to move cocaine through Honduras by plane, boat, truck and helicopter. |
| The government’s star witness was a former small-town mayor who said that he trafficked 30 to 40 tons of cocaine with Mr. Hernández and channeled more than $4 million in bribes to the president and his predecessor, Porfirio Lobo. Prosecutors also described Mr. Lobo as a co-conspirator, but he has not been indicted and has denied any connection with drug trafficking. | |
| The former mayor, Amílcar Alexander Ardón Soriana, testified that in the months before the 2013 Honduran presidential election, Mr. Guzmán, then the most wanted man in the world, traveled twice to Honduras to meet with Tony Hernández and contributed $1 million toward the president’s final campaign push. | The former mayor, Amílcar Alexander Ardón Soriana, testified that in the months before the 2013 Honduran presidential election, Mr. Guzmán, then the most wanted man in the world, traveled twice to Honduras to meet with Tony Hernández and contributed $1 million toward the president’s final campaign push. |
| Mr. Ardón set up the meeting around his dining room table, where one of Mr. Guzmán’s associates laid out the cash — packaged in bundles of $50,000 and $100,000 — for Mr. Hernández and Mr. Ardón to count. | Mr. Ardón set up the meeting around his dining room table, where one of Mr. Guzmán’s associates laid out the cash — packaged in bundles of $50,000 and $100,000 — for Mr. Hernández and Mr. Ardón to count. |
| Mr. Ardón said that, in exchange, Mr. Guzmán wanted protection and the promise that his associates in Honduras — Mr. Ardón and the Valle Valle cartel — would not be extradited to the United States. | Mr. Ardón said that, in exchange, Mr. Guzmán wanted protection and the promise that his associates in Honduras — Mr. Ardón and the Valle Valle cartel — would not be extradited to the United States. |
| But once President Hernández took office, he reneged on the deal. The three Valle Valle brothers were sent to the United States. Mr. Ardón testified that President Hernández later said that “he had not obligated himself to anyone and that he would return the money if we wanted it back.” | But once President Hernández took office, he reneged on the deal. The three Valle Valle brothers were sent to the United States. Mr. Ardón testified that President Hernández later said that “he had not obligated himself to anyone and that he would return the money if we wanted it back.” |
| In a message posted on Twitter, President Hernández rebutted Mr. Ardón’s testimony. “That never happened,” he wrote. “Not $1 million, not any amount, never, nobody.” | In a message posted on Twitter, President Hernández rebutted Mr. Ardón’s testimony. “That never happened,” he wrote. “Not $1 million, not any amount, never, nobody.” |
| According to witnesses, that was not the only bribe to the president’s National Party. | According to witnesses, that was not the only bribe to the president’s National Party. |
| Mr. Ardón said that he paid more than $4 million in elections from 2009 to 2017, including $2 million for Mr. Lobo in 2009 and $1.6 million for Mr. Hernández in 2013. | |
| Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, one of the leaders of Los Cachiros, a feared drug gang, testified that he gave Mr. Lobo $500,000 or $600,000 in 2009. Another convicted trafficker, Víctor Hugo Díaz Morales, said that he paid $100,000 into the campaigns that year. | Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, one of the leaders of Los Cachiros, a feared drug gang, testified that he gave Mr. Lobo $500,000 or $600,000 in 2009. Another convicted trafficker, Víctor Hugo Díaz Morales, said that he paid $100,000 into the campaigns that year. |
| Mr. Lobo has denied receiving any bribes or having any association with drug traffickers. “I deny the drug criminals and murderers,” he wrote on Twitter, and said that since 2017 he had put himself at the disposal of the United States Embassy in Honduras and the United States attorney in Manhattan for investigation. | Mr. Lobo has denied receiving any bribes or having any association with drug traffickers. “I deny the drug criminals and murderers,” he wrote on Twitter, and said that since 2017 he had put himself at the disposal of the United States Embassy in Honduras and the United States attorney in Manhattan for investigation. |
| Mr. Hernández’s lawyers argued that there was nothing to tie him to the drug traffickers except their own words. “Serial killer after serial killer gets up on the stand and tells you what happened with this uncanny memory of what happened 15 years ago, 10 years ago,” his defense lawyer, Michael R. Tein, said in closing arguments. | |
| Their testimony was an effort to win “get-out-of-jail early cards,” he said. And “if you suggest something to them,” he added, “they’re going to dance.” | Their testimony was an effort to win “get-out-of-jail early cards,” he said. And “if you suggest something to them,” he added, “they’re going to dance.” |
| The story about El Chapo’s bribe, he said, was no more than the “absolutely uncorroborated, unbacked-up naked word of an admitted multimurderer,” Mr. Tein said. | The story about El Chapo’s bribe, he said, was no more than the “absolutely uncorroborated, unbacked-up naked word of an admitted multimurderer,” Mr. Tein said. |
| After the verdict, Mr. Tein accused prosecutors of presenting “evidence from the mouths of liars.” | |
| The jury also heard from Mr. Hernández, who did not testify, but appeared on tape on two occasions. | The jury also heard from Mr. Hernández, who did not testify, but appeared on tape on two occasions. |
| In one recording, from 2014, he is seen meeting with Mr. Rivera, a leader of the Cachiros who has confessed to killing 78 people. The two discuss switching government contracts that had been given to one company controlled by the Cachiros — and used to launder money — to another company controlled by the gang after the first one was flagged by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. | In one recording, from 2014, he is seen meeting with Mr. Rivera, a leader of the Cachiros who has confessed to killing 78 people. The two discuss switching government contracts that had been given to one company controlled by the Cachiros — and used to launder money — to another company controlled by the gang after the first one was flagged by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. |
| Mr. Rivera, who had begun cooperating with the D.E.A., recorded the meeting using a secret camera in his watch. | Mr. Rivera, who had begun cooperating with the D.E.A., recorded the meeting using a secret camera in his watch. |
| Another recording shows Mr. Hernández being questioned by federal agents in Florida. Although he knew he had been under investigation in the United States since 2016, he flew to the United States in November. | Another recording shows Mr. Hernández being questioned by federal agents in Florida. Although he knew he had been under investigation in the United States since 2016, he flew to the United States in November. |
| He was arrested and, in his taped interview, named the narco-traffickers he knew, including Mr. Rivera. He also detailed how traffickers sneaked cocaine past authorities and identified a photograph of a kilogram of cocaine stamped with the initials “TH.” Asked what the letters stood for, he said, “Supposedly, it’s Tony Hernández.” | He was arrested and, in his taped interview, named the narco-traffickers he knew, including Mr. Rivera. He also detailed how traffickers sneaked cocaine past authorities and identified a photograph of a kilogram of cocaine stamped with the initials “TH.” Asked what the letters stood for, he said, “Supposedly, it’s Tony Hernández.” |
| Alongside the recordings, prosecutors also showed photos from Mr. Hernández’s phone. Among them were images of cash and machine guns — including one inscribed with the president’s name. | Alongside the recordings, prosecutors also showed photos from Mr. Hernández’s phone. Among them were images of cash and machine guns — including one inscribed with the president’s name. |
| The machine gun, said Mr. Bove, the prosecutor, is “an embodiment of what state-sponsored drug trafficking looks like.” | The machine gun, said Mr. Bove, the prosecutor, is “an embodiment of what state-sponsored drug trafficking looks like.” |