At trial’s start, ex-Honduran president cast as corrupt politician by US but a hero by his lawyer

Published February 21, 2024 10:27 AM

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor has described former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, at the start of his trial, as a corrupt politician who let his country’s biggest drug traffickers fuel his rise to power. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Robles told a Manhattan federal court jury during opening statements Wednesday that Hernández unleashed the Central American nation’s military and police to aid drug dealers. A defense lawyer, though, portrayed the man who served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022 as a heroic leader who worked with U.S. authorities to fight the drug trade and reduce killings in his country.

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