Juan Orlando Hernández

Hernández was born in Gracias, Honduras to Juan Hernández Villanueva and Elvira Alvarado Castillo, as the fifteenth of seventeen children. His siblings include Hilda Hernández[http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1031447-466/hilda-hern%C3%A1ndez-dice-adi%C3%B3s-a-su-cargo-en-el-gobierno Hilda Hernández dice "adiós" a su cargo en el gobierno] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104190005/http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1031447-466/hilda-hern%C3%A1ndez-dice-adi%C3%B3s-a-su-cargo-en-el-gobierno |date=4 January 2017 }} Published by El Heraldo, 2 January 2017 (1966–2017){{cite web|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1135560-410/honduras-hilda_hernandez-juan_orlando_hernandez-presidente_de_honduras-accidente_helicoptero|title=Muere Hilda Hernández, hermana del presidente de Honduras|website=Laprensa.hn|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=17 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217012939/http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1135560-410/honduras-hilda_hernandez-juan_orlando_hernandez-presidente_de_honduras-accidente_helicoptero|url-status=live}} and Juan Antonio (Tony) Hernández, a former deputy now in U.S. federal custody on drug trafficking charges.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/26/world/americas/honduras-brother-drug-charges.html|title=Honduran President's Brother, Arrested in Miami, Is Charged With Drug Trafficking|last1=Ernstd|first1=Jeff|date=2018-11-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-02-02|last2=Malkin|first2=Elisabeth|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=3 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203030834/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/26/world/americas/honduras-brother-drug-charges.html|url-status=live}} He has a master's degree in public administration from the State University of New York at Albany.{{cite web|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/elecciones2017/1112367-410/joh-juan-orlando-hernandez-reeleccion-honduras-presidencial-elecciones_honduras|title=Juan Orlando Hernández busca hacer historia con su reelcción|date=11 October 2017|work=La Prensa|language=es|access-date=2017-12-18|archive-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223003840/http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/elecciones2017/1112367-410/joh-juan-orlando-hernandez-reeleccion-honduras-presidencial-elecciones_honduras|url-status=live}} He was a coffee-growing campesino in his native Gracias.

Hernández, who represented Lempira Department since 2001, was elected President of the National Congress where the National Party had a comfortable majority, on 21 January 2010, and took office four days later.[http://archivo.elheraldo.hn/Ediciones/2010/01/21/Noticias/Juan-Orlando-Hernandez-nuevo-presidente-del-CN Juan Orlando Hernández, nuevo presidente del CN] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111085530/http://archivo.elheraldo.hn/Ediciones/2010/01/21/Noticias/Juan-Orlando-Hernandez-nuevo-presidente-del-CN |date=2013-11-11 }}

In 2012, he fought a campaign against Ricardo Álvarez to try to become the National Party presidential candidate for 2013, and won the internal election of November 2012; Álvarez publicly denounced the result as fraudulent and demanded a "vote by vote" recount, which the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) rejected.

A poll conducted in May 2013 saw him in third place with a projected 18% of the vote.{{cite web|url=http://www.nacion.com/mundo/Esposa-Manuel-Zelaya-elecciones-Honduras_0_1349265147.html|title=Esposa de Manuel Zelaya lidera las encuestas de cara a las elecciones en Honduras|website=Nacion.com|date=22 June 2013 |access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216011320/http://www.nacion.com/mundo/Esposa-Manuel-Zelaya-elecciones-Honduras_0_1349265147.html|url-status=live}} He began his presidential campaign in July 2013 in Intibucá and La Paz with a campaign entitled El Pueblo Propone (The People Propose in English).{{cite web|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/csp/mediapool/sites/LaPrensa/Honduras/Tegucigalpa/story.csp?cid=333361&sid=275&fid=98#.UfsrMtLFXTo|title=JOH lanza "El pueblo propone"|website=Laprensa.hn|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=22 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422215702/http://www.laprensa.hn/csp/mediapool/sites/LaPrensa/Honduras/Tegucigalpa/story.csp?cid=333361&sid=275&fid=98#.UfsrMtLFXTo|url-status=live}} He campaigned for the military to police the streets, and claimed that his closest rival Xiomara Castro wanted to remove the Policía Militar (English: Military Police) which were already in Honduras' two main cities.{{cite web|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/inicio/406313-96/joh-quieren-que-la-policia-militar-deje-de-operar|title=JOH: "Quieren que la Policía Militar deje de operar"|website=Laprensa.hn|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223102205/http://www.laprensa.hn/inicio/406313-96/joh-quieren-que-la-policia-militar-deje-de-operar|url-status=live}} He won the election, beating Castro by 250,000 votes.

Hernández said National Party accountants found that approximately L3 million lempira (about US$140,000) from companies with links to the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS) scandal had entered its campaign coffers.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-corruption-idUSKBN0OJ26B20150603|title=Honduras president: graft-linked companies helped fund my campaign|date=3 June 2015|publisher=Reuters|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925212151/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-corruption-idUSKBN0OJ26B20150603|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2015/09/18/honduras-corruption-scandal-ihss/41567|title=Why isn't the world talking about the Honduras corruption scandal?|newspaper=The Seattle Globalist|date=18 September 2015|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=2 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302175438/http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2015/09/18/honduras-corruption-scandal-ihss/41567|url-status=live}}

On 22 April 2015, the Supreme Court unanimously allowed presidential re-election. On 12 March 2017, Hernández became the National Party candidate by defeating his rival Roberto Castillo during the National Party primary. The Honduran Constitution allows revocation of citizenship of anyone who promotes changing the law to allow re-election,{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.am/library/sahmanadrutyunner/Honduras.pdf|title=CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS 1982|website=Parliament.am|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215041016/http://www.parliament.am/library/sahmanadrutyunner/Honduras.pdf|url-status=live}} however Hernández's National Party, which also controls Congress, says a Supreme Court ruling last year allows him to stand for a new term. Opposition Liberal Party claims that the court does not have the power to make such decisions.

The President was re-elected in the 2017 presidential election after a vote deemed fraudulent by the opposition and international observers. The government declared a state of emergency. Some 30 demonstrators were killed and more than 800 arrested. According to the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, "many of them were transferred to military installations, where they were brutally beaten, insulted and sometimes tortured".{{cite web|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1074427/mort-12-manifestants-honduras-respect-droits-fondamentaux-election-hernandez-nasralla|title=Des organismes réclament le respect des droits fondamentaux au Honduras |website=Radio-Canada.ca|date=21 December 2017 |access-date=15 Feb 2020|archive-date=16 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616225636/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1074427/mort-12-manifestants-honduras-respect-droits-fondamentaux-election-hernandez-nasralla|url-status=live}}

File:Honduran President Hernandez Signs Secretary Pompeo's Guestbook (42167632814).jpg

Hondurans both in and outside Honduras have protested against corruption in Honduras, allegedly by the Hernández government as well as the judiciary, the military, the police and other public administration entities, demanding an end to embezzlement of funds and public money.{{cite news|url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2015/06/14/actualidad/1434303266_370487.html|title=Una ola de protestas sacude los gobiernos de Honduras y Guatemala|newspaper=El País|date=14 June 2015|last1=Meléndez|first1=José|access-date=16 October 2015|archive-date=18 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918022027/http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2015/06/14/actualidad/1434303266_370487.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/06/06/album/1433554943_075971.html|title=Fotos: Marcha en Honduras contra la corrupción de su Gobierno|date=6 June 2015|work=El País|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=24 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924095401/https://elpais.com/elpais/2015/06/06/album/1433554943_075971.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://honduprensa.wordpress.com/tag/manifestaciones/|title=Manifestaciones|website=Honduprensa.wordpress.com|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018064103/https://honduprensa.wordpress.com/tag/manifestaciones/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2015/06/12/5579e9bc22601de23d8b45bb.html |title=La 'revolución' de las antorchas en Honduras |last=Peña |first=Gustavo |website=Elmundo.es |language=es |date=12 June 2015 |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=23 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423161220/https://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2015/06/12/5579e9bc22601de23d8b45bb.html |url-status=live }} In May 2015, Radio Globo discovered documents that allegedly showed that the Honduran National Party had received large amounts of cash from nonexistent companies through fraudulent contracts awarded by the IHSS when it was run by Mario Zelaya. The contracts were approved by the National Congress of Honduras when Hernández was its president and the party funding committee was headed by his sister, Hilda Hernández. Hernández has accepted that his election campaign received money from companies tied to the scandal, but denies any personal knowledge. By June 2015, Hernández had appointed a commission to investigate the cause of the corruption.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/10/hit-men-high-living-honduran-corruption-scandal-president|title=How hitmen and high living lifted lid on looting of Honduran healthcare system|first=Nina|last=Lakhani|date=10 June 2015|access-date=18 December 2017|website=Theguardian.com|archive-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223023040/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/10/hit-men-high-living-honduran-corruption-scandal-president|url-status=live}}

In 2017, the Drug Enforcement Agency in Miami arrested Hernández's brother, Juan Antonio Hernández, for drug trafficking and for using Honduran military personnel and equipment to ship cocaine to the United States on behalf of the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/26/world/americas/honduras-brother-drug-charges.html|title=Honduran President's Brother, Arrested in Miami, Is Charged With Drug Trafficking|last1=Ernst|first1=Jeff|date=26 November 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=2 February 2019|last2=Malkin|first2=Elisabeth|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=3 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203030834/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/26/world/americas/honduras-brother-drug-charges.html|url-status=live}}

On 21 June 2018, president Hernández ordered units of the Honduran Army and the military police in the streets of the capital after renewed protests. According to a Hospital Escuela Universitario spokesperson, at least 17 people suffered bullet wounds as a result of violence in the protests, and two of them died at the hospital.{{cite news|date=21 June 2019|title=Honduras protests: Military deployed after violence|work=BBC|location=London|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48712001|access-date=22 June 2019|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622124948/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48712001|url-status=live}}

In April 2019, new anti-privatisation and anti-corruption protests erupted, led by Tegucigalpa Autonomous University students and by health care workers. Tear gas was used against the protesters in demonstrations that took place in the center of Tegucigalpa.

On 7 October 2015, the United States Department of Justice released a statement saying that Jaime Rosenthal, his son Yani Rosenthal and nephew Yankel Rosenthal, as well as seven other businesses, were labeled "specially designated narcotics traffickers" under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, the first time this had been used against a bank outside the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/10/07/powerful-honduran-businessman-accused-of-money-laundering |date=2015-10-09 |title=Powerful Honduran businessman indicted in US for alleged money laundering for drug traffickers |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014433/http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/10/07/powerful-honduran-businessman-accused-of-money-laundering |archive-date=2015-11-17 }} As a result, the Honduran National Commission for Banks and Insurance (Comisión Nacional de Banca y Seguros, CNBS), forcibly liquidated the Banco Continental, property of the Rosenthal family, which was closed as of Monday, 12 October 2015,{{cite web|url=http://www.tiempo.hn/la-cnbs-se-volvio-sorda-ante-el-clamor-de-miles-de-familias/|title=CNBS procede a la liquidación forzosa de Banco Continental |first=Richard|last=Carbajal|date=12 October 2015|website=Tiempo.hn|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919122614/http://tiempo.hn/la-cnbs-se-volvio-sorda-ante-el-clamor-de-miles-de-familias/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/honduras-crime-banking-idUSL1N12B0I820151012|title=Honduran bank at center of money laundering case to be shut down|date=12 October 2015|publisher=Reuters|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916130346/http://www.reuters.com/article/honduras-crime-banking-idUSL1N12B0I820151012|url-status=live}} as well as other businesses and properties allegedly involved in money laundering.{{cite web|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/890370-410/incautan-19-empresas-y-varias-casas-de-la-familia-rosenthal|title=Incautan 19 empresas y varias casas de la familia Rosenthal|website=Laprensa.hn|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904200142/http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/890370-410/incautan-19-empresas-y-varias-casas-de-la-familia-rosenthal|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/892035-214/incautan-más-propiedades-a-familia-rosenthal-en-la-capital-de-honduras|title=El periodismo necesita inversión. Para compartir esta nota utiliza los íconos que aparecen en la página.|website=Elheraldo.hn|access-date=18 December 2017|archive-date=7 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307141206/http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/892035-214/incautan-m%C3%A1s-propiedades-a-familia-rosenthal-en-la-capital-de-honduras|url-status=live}} Hernández said that the financial system "is solid" and made it clear that this "is a problem between Banco Continental and the USA justice system".{{cite news|url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2015/10/13/actualidad/1444768440_659756.html|title=El 'caso Rosenthal' mezcla política y delitos en Honduras|date=14 October 2015|newspaper=El País|access-date=18 December 2017|last1=Meléndez|first1=José|archive-date=8 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408054213/http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2015/10/13/actualidad/1444768440_659756.html|url-status=live}}

President Hernández's brother, Antonio "Tony" Hernández, was convicted in the USA on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. After Tony Hernández's conviction on 18 October 2019, 7,000 supporters of President Hernández, including members of the official National Party of Honduras, marched in Tegucigalpa. President Hernández criticized his brother's conviction as basado en testimonios de asesinos ("based on testimony from killers") and denied that Honduras has become a narco-state.{{cite web|website=La Jornanda|title=Marchan en Honduras en apoyo al presidente Juan Orlando Hernández|date=20 Oct 2019|language=es|trans-title=March in Honduras in support of President Juan Orlando Hernandez|url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/ultimas/mundo/2019/10/20/marchan-en-honduras-en-apoyo-al-presidente-juan-orlando-hernandez-9303.html|access-date=20 October 2019|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020233003/https://www.jornada.com.mx/ultimas/mundo/2019/10/20/marchan-en-honduras-en-apoyo-al-presidente-juan-orlando-hernandez-9303.html|url-status=live}}

The presidency of Hernández was marked by an increase in the influence of conservative evangelical organizations and Opus Dei on government decisions. Compulsory prayer at the beginning of the day was instituted in schools and in certain institutions such as the police and the army. At the beginning of 2021, the total prohibition of abortion and same-sex marriage was included in the Constitution, making it very difficult to change the law later on.{{Cite web|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2021/03/honduras-abortion-ban-constitutional-amendment|title=In Honduras, the Right Is Permanently Locking in Its Abortion Ban|website=jacobinmag.com|access-date=4 March 2021|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303105526/https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/03/honduras-abortion-ban-constitutional-amendment|url-status=live}}

From June to July 2018, 78% of Hernández's Facebook posts received fake engagement and likes, artificially boosting Hernández' apparent popular support by a factor of five.{{Cite news|last=Wong|first=Julia Carrie|author-link=Julia Carrie Wong |date=2021-04-12|title=How Facebook let fake engagement distort global politics: a whistleblower's account|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/12/facebook-fake-engagement-whistleblower-sophie-zhang|access-date=2021-04-15|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415012235/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/12/facebook-fake-engagement-whistleblower-sophie-zhang|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2021-04-13|title=Facebook knew of Honduran president's manipulation campaign – and let it continue for 11 months|last1=Wong|first1=Julia Carrie|last2=Ernst|first2=Jeff|location=San Francisco|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/13/facebook-honduras-juan-orlando-hernandez-fake-engagement|access-date=2021-04-15|work=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415012031/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/13/facebook-honduras-juan-orlando-hernandez-fake-engagement|url-status=live}} The social manager of the official Facebook pages of both Hernández and his late sister, who had served as communications minister, was directly controlling several hundreds of these fake entities. This campaign innovated by using Facebook's Organization Pages, configured with human names and photos, to add apparent support and to lure unaware readers.

===Foreign policy===

File:Mike Pence and Juan Orlando Hernandez at VP Office - 2017.jpg in Washington, D.C., 23 March 2017]]File:Reunión Triangulo Norte con Vicepresidente Biden (24085722600).jpg, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, and Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, 2016]]

Hernández maintained good relations with the Obama and Trump administrations in the United States. Hernández was seen as a key ally in Central America given the presence of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.{{cite news |last1=Sánchez |first1=Ezequiel |title=¿Por qué Estados Unidos le soltó la mano a su aliado Juan Orlando Hernández, expresidente de Honduras? |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/402707-por-que-estados-unidos-le-solto-la-mano-a-su-aliado-juan-orl |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=Página/12 |date=20 February 2022 |language=es}}

In 2019, during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Hernández recognized the legitimacy of Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela and joined the declarations of the Lima Group, against the Maduro government. In the same way, Hernández supported the pronunciations of the Organization of American States (OAS), regarding the crisis in Venezuela.{{cite news |title=Honduras restablece relaciones con Venezuela y las mantiene con Taiwán |url=https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20220204-honduras-restablece-relaciones-con-venezuela-y-las-mantiene-con-taiw%C3%A1n |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=FRANCE24 |date=4 February 2022 |language=es}}

In 2021, Hernández travelled to Israel, where he met with prime minister Naftali Bennett, and where he inaugurated Honduras's embassy in Jerusalem, becoming one of the countries which officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.{{cite news |title=Presidente de Honduras inaugura embajada en Jerusalén {{!}} DW News |url=https://www.dw.com/es/presidente-de-honduras-inaugura-embajada-en-jerusal%C3%A9n/a-58038201 |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=2021 |language=es}}

Shortly before leaving office, in October 2021, contrary to his alliance with the US, Hernández met Nicaragua's Ortega in Managua, where they signed agreements regarding disputes in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Fonseca, on which there had been a ruling by a The Hague court years earlier. The summit between Hernández and Ortega was described as "strange", "surprising", and "unusual" by El País, given the leaders' differences in previous years.{{cite news |last1=Miranda |first1=Wilfredo |title=Ortega y Juan Orlando Hernández, una extraña alianza preelectoral |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-10-28/ortega-y-juan-orlando-hernandez-una-extrana-alianza-preelectoral.html |access-date=23 April 2022 |work=El País |date=27 October 2021 |language=es}}

At the end of May 2019, U.S. prosecutors unsealed documents from 2015 which revealed that Hernández was himself the subject of a major drug trafficking and money laundering investigation, alongside his sister Hilda and others.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/05/honduras-protests-teachers-doctors-president|title=Honduras deploys security forces as doctors and teachers demand president's resignation|last=Lakhani|first=Nina|location=San Pedro Sula|date=5 June 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 June 2019|archive-date=5 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605105252/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/05/honduras-protests-teachers-doctors-president|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/08/03/world/americas/ap-lt-honduras-president-charges.html|title=Honduran President Accused in NY of Drug Conspiracy|archive-date=3 August 2019|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803195220/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/08/03/world/americas/ap-lt-honduras-president-charges.html|date=3 August 2019|work=The New York Times}}

Hernández was identified as a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking and money laundering case against his brother, according to document filed in U.S. district court. Prosecutors allege $1.5 million in drug proceeds were used to help elect him in 2013. Hernández responded saying he is a foe of traffickers who are out for revenge against him.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

A document released by a U.S. district court implicates President Hernández in a conspiracy with his brother, Antonio "Tony" Hernández, and other high-level officials — including his presidential predecessor Porfirio Lobo Sosa — "to leverage drug trafficking to maintain and enhance their political power." Tony Hernández was sentenced to life in prison in January 2021 following his conviction on numerous charges related to his work in drug trafficking.{{Cite news|last=Córdoba|first=José de|date=2021-03-30|title=Brother of Honduras President Sentenced to Life in Drug-Trafficking Case|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/brother-of-honduras-president-sentenced-to-life-in-drug-trafficking-case-11617147486|access-date=2022-02-16|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217001948/https://www.wsj.com/articles/brother-of-honduras-president-sentenced-to-life-in-drug-trafficking-case-11617147486|url-status=live}}

The 44-page document – which is related to the trial of Tony Hernández in New York's Southern District on drug trafficking and other charges – summarizes some of the key evidence collected by prosecutors against the defendant, who they accuse of being a “violent, multi-ton drug trafficker” who allegedly abused his political connections for personal and political gain and at least twice “helped arrange murders of drug trafficking rivals.”{{cite news |date=3 August 2019 |title=President of Honduras implicated in $1.5 million drug money conspiracy by New York prosecutor |url=https://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/president-of-honduras-implicated-in-1-5-million-drug-money-conspiracy-by-new-york-prosecutor |work=Univision |location=USA |access-date=3 August 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807061217/https://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/president-of-honduras-implicated-in-1-5-million-drug-money-conspiracy-by-new-york-prosecutor |url-status=live }}

On 7 February 2022, ex-president Hernández had his visa revoked by the U.S. Department of State, due to involvements in corruption and dealings with narcotics. On 14 February, he was surrounded by the National police and DEA agents at his residency to process his capture and eventually take him to custody of the United States for possible trials. The U.S. government also requested an extradition against him for his involvement with narcotics. After issuing an extradition warrant, Juan Orlando Hernández decided to surrender to US authorities on 15 February 2022.{{Cite news|date=15 February 2022|title=Ex-Honduras president agrees to extradition to the US|pages=1|work=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/15/americas/honduras-hernandez-president-extradition-us-intl/index.html|access-date=16 February 2022|archive-date=15 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215230830/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/15/americas/honduras-hernandez-president-extradition-us-intl/index.html|url-status=live}} The same day, local Honduran authorities arrested Hernández at his home in Tegucigalpa.

File:Department_of_Justice_press_conference_announcing_the_extradition_of_Juan_Orlando_Hernández,_former_President_of_Honduras,_to_face_drug-trafficking_and_firearms_charges.webm

During that time on 15 February the first audience of Juan Orlando Hernández was timed with the Supreme Court of Honduras placing the judge Edwin Ortez in charge of the case of extradition.{{Cite web |title=juez edwin otrez – Search |url=https://www.bing.com/search?q=juez+edwin+otrez&cvid=e9cbbfe458e44f8eb9c40049679dde60&aqs=edge..69i57.5078j0j1&pglt=299&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=HCTS |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=www.bing.com |archive-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317032629/https://www.bing.com/search?q=juez+edwin+otrez&cvid=e9cbbfe458e44f8eb9c40049679dde60&aqs=edge..69i57.5078j0j1&pglt=299&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=HCTS |url-status=live }} At a second proceeding on 16 March, Judge Ortez approved the order of extradition appealed by the Southern District of New York.{{Cite web |title=Judge: Ex-Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández should be extradited to US on drug trafficking and weapons charges |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/judge-honduras-president-juan-orlando-hernndez-extradited-us-83496509 |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317032629/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/judge-honduras-president-juan-orlando-hernndez-extradited-us-83496509 |url-status=live }} Hernández's lawyers appealed Ortez's ruling, but on 28 March 2022, the Supreme Court of Honduras rejected his appeal and authorized his extradition to the United States.{{cite news |title=Honduras top court backs extradition of ex-president Hernandez to U.S. |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduras-top-court-backs-extradition-ex-president-hernandez-us-2022-03-28/ |access-date=28 March 2022 |work=Reuters |date=28 March 2022 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328200937/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduras-top-court-backs-extradition-ex-president-hernandez-us-2022-03-28/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Magistrados deliberan sobre apelación de extradición de Juan Orlando Hernández |url=https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/pleno-magistrados-decide-extradicion-juan-orlando-hernandez-honduras-IC6859309 |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=La Prensa |language=es-HN |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328223329/https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/pleno-magistrados-decide-extradicion-juan-orlando-hernandez-honduras-IC6859309 |url-status=live }}

On 21 April Hernández was extradited to the United States.{{Cite journal |date=2022 |title=Former President of Honduras Extradited to the United States |journal=American Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=116 |issue=4 |pages=880–884 |doi=10.1017/ajil.2022.63 |s2cid=253161923 |issn=0002-9300|doi-access=free }} The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed their indictment, charging him with conspiracy to import cocaine to the United States ({{UnitedStatesCode|21|963}}), as well as firearms charges (under {{UnitedStatesCode|18|924}}).{{Cite web |date=2022-04-21 |title=Juan Orlando Hernandez, Former President Of Honduras, Extradited To The United States On Drug-Trafficking And Firearms Charges |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/juan-orlando-hernandez-former-president-honduras-extradited-united-states-drug |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}

The United States specifically charged Hernández with accepting millions of dollars in bribes from narcotraffickers since 2004, and in particular the Sinaloa Cartel, led at the time by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, since 2012. The indictment states that Tony Hernández collected the bribes using men armed with machine guns; in exchange, Juan Orlando Hernández conspired to protect smugglers from investigation and arrest, specifically providing "access to law enforcement and military information, including data from flight radar in Honduras."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Juan Orlando Hernandez|title=Superseding Indictment #7|doc-number=423|date=2022-01-27|pacer-number=578666|case-state=NY|case-district=SD|case-division=1|case-year=2015|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00379|access-date=2022-04-22}}

In a video statement posted on social media, Hernández said he was innocent and that he had been set up by drug traffickers.{{Cite web |last1=Dienst |first1=Jonathan |last2=Williams |first2=Pete |title=Handcuffed Ex-Head of State Extradited to NYC in Sweeping Federal Trafficking Case |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/handcuffed-ex-head-of-state-extradited-to-nyc-in-sweeping-federal-trafficking-case/3658084/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=NBC New York |date=22 April 2022 |language=en-US}}

On 10 May 2022, Hernández pled not-guilty to all charges and complained about the conditions in which he is being held, with his lawyer describing those conditions as those of a "prisoner of war", and saying they were "psychologically debilitating".{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Luc |title=Honduran ex-president Hernandez pleads not guilty in U.S., decries treatment |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduran-ex-president-plead-not-guilty-us-drugs-weapons-charges-2022-05-10/ |access-date=10 May 2022 |work=Reuters |date=10 May 2022}}

Hernández's trial began on 21 February 2024 in New York City{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ex-honduras-president-worked-hand-hand-with-drug-traffickers-us-says-2024-02-21/|title=Anti-drug crusader or cartel secret weapon? Honduras ex-president's trial kicks off|work=Reuters|first=Luc|last=Cohen|date=21 February 2024}} and concluded on 8 March, when he was found guilty of drug trafficking. On 26 June, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-08 |title=Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez found guilty in US drug trafficking case |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-honduran-president-juan-orlando-191441793.html |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduras-ex-president-hernandez-faces-long-prison-term-after-us-drug-conviction-2024-06-26/|title=Honduras ex-President Hernandez sentenced to 45 years in prison on US drug conviction|work=Reuters|first=Luc|last=Cohen|date=26 June 2024}}

One of his cellmates sharing the domitory at the Brooklyn Detention Center is Sam Bankman-Fried. Another inmate is Genaro García Luna who served as the Secretary of Public Security of Mexico during the administration of Felipe Calderón from 2006 to 2012.{{cite news |last1=Fanelli |first1=James |last2=Ramey |first2=Corinne |url=https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/sam-bankman-frieds-life-behind-bars-crypto-tips-and-paying-with-fish-858097c6 |title=Sam Bankman-Fried’s Life Behind Bars: Crypto Tips and Paying With Fish: FTX founder learns that mackerel is a jailhouse currency and shares a dorm with other high-profile defendants |work=Wall Street Journal |date=23 November 2023 |access-date=18 March 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525130235/https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/sam-bankman-frieds-life-behind-bars-crypto-tips-and-paying-with-fish-858097c6 |archive-date=25 May 2024}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20240422022045/https://www.compromat.ru/page_45103.htm Alternate archive] in Russian

Hernández married Ana García Carías on 3 February 1990, with whom he has three children.{{Cite magazine |date=9 January 2014 |title=Juan Orlando Hernández: La historia detrás del presidente electo de Honduras |trans-title=Juan Orlando Hernández: The Story Behind the President-Elect of Honduras |url=http://www.revistaestilo.net/gente/441740-152/juan-orlando-hernandez |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104213652/http://www.revistaestilo.net/gente/441740-152/juan-orlando-hernandez |archive-date=4 November 2017 |access-date=3 November 2017 |magazine=Revista Estilo |language=es}} He is the brother of convicted drug trafficker Tony Hernández.

• Order of Brilliant Jade with Grand Cordon (Republic of China){{cite news |title=President Tsai hosts state banquet for President and First Lady of Honduras |url=https://english.president.gov.tw/NEWS/4995 |access-date=23 April 2020 |agency=Office of the President, Republic of China |date=3 October 2016 |archive-date=12 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612155015/https://english.president.gov.tw/NEWS/4995 |url-status=live }}

• Honduras Activate
• {{portal-inline|Honduras}}

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• [http://www.cidob.org/es/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_central_y_caribe/honduras/juan_orlando_hernandez_Alvarado Biography by CIDOB] (in Spanish)

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Category:1968 births

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Category:Heads of government who were later imprisoned

Category:People extradited to the United States

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