Hondurans glued to their former president’s US drug trafficking trial

By MARLON GONZÁLEZ and LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Hondurans call it the “Trial of the Century,” but it’s occurring in a New York courtroom some 3,500 miles away. Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández has been on trial since February in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, accused of taking bribes to protect drug traffickers, even as he portrayed himself publicly as an ally in the U.S. drug war. Testifying Tuesday and Wednesday in his own defense, Hernández denied conspiring with drug dealers or taking bribes. The trial isn’t televised, but some Honduran news outlets sent their own reporters to New York to cover the prosecution. Others simply follow a handful of people who’ve been live-tweeting testimony and summarizing the day’s courtroom developments.