Honduran ex-president stands trial in NYC

21/2/2024 7:28

        Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was once touted by U.S. authorities as a key ally in the war on drugs. Now, federal prosecutors say the political leader ran his Central American nation as a "narco-state," collecting millions of dollars from violent cartels to fuel his rise to power.
        
        Nearly two years after his arrest and extradition to the U.S., Hernandez went on trial Tuesday in Manhattan federal court on drug trafficking and weapons charges. A jury was chosen and opening statements were scheduled for Wednesday at a trial Judge P. Kevin Castel projected would last two to three weeks.
        
        It's a stunning fall from grace for a political leader long viewed - by Democratic and Republican administrations alike - as beneficial to American interests in the region, including combatting the illegal drug trade and helping slow the waves of migrants crossing the southern U.S. border.