U.S. federal prosecutors have accused the Honduran government of essentially functioning as a narco-state, with the current and former presidents having received campaign contributions from cocaine traffickers in exchange for protection.
A 49-page document filed in New York's southern district on Friday refers to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández as a co-conspirator who worked with his brother, Juan Antonio"Tony" Hernández, and former President Porfirio Lobo"to use drug trafficking to help assert power and control in Honduras."
The U.S. government has been a staunch supporter of Hernández's government, pouring millions of dollars into security cooperation to stop cocaine headed to the U.S. from South America. Since then, the president's office said, more than 40 Hondurans have been extradited and others have negotiated plea deals with U.S. officials in exchange for information.
Prosecutors describe Tony Hernández as a"violent, multi-ton drug trafficker" with significant influence over high-ranking Honduran officials, who in turn protected his shipments and turf. They also say that members of the Honduran National Police escorted his cocaine through the country's waters and airspace, while Lobo once deployed military personnel to the nation's border with Guatemala to deter another drug trafficker from encroaching on territory in western Honduras.
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