Honduran president denies links to drug trafficking alleged in US court trial

Conservative leader accuses drug gangs of seeking 'revenge' against him

Juan Orlando Hernandez was named in a US court filing on an investigation into large-scale drug trafficking (AFP/Getty)

Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez has denied reports from a US court filing linking him to drug trafficking, and has instead accused criminals of seeking revenge against him.

“The drug traffickers are looking for revenge against the only president who’s done what he’s needed to do,” he told a news conference on Saturday, detailing his efforts to curb illegal drug sales in the small Central American country where drug gangs have prominent strongholds.

Mr Hernandez specifically opposed a report from US-based Spanish language broadcaster Univision, in which he said he was described as implicated in a campaign finance conspiracy.

Univision had detailed a 44-page document related to the upcoming drug trafficking trial in New York of Mr Hernandez’s brother, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez, which contained testimony from someone who appeared to be a former official.

“These are false accusations made by a drug trafficker,” Mr Hernandez said, while acknowledging that such a document had been put before a US judge.

The Honduran president, a conservative lawyer who came to power in 2014, has reined in murders with a tough policy against drug cartels and street gangs that has been supported by the US and criticised by human rights groups.

In May, a US court filing showed that US authorities had targeted Mr Hernandez in an investigation of large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering, related to the drug trafficking case against Mr Hernandez’s brother.

Tony Hernandez was arrested in Miami in November. A leader of the Cachiros gang had testified during a 2017 trial in New York that Tony Hernandez took a bribe to help launder drug funds.

Several other prominent Hondurans, including government officials, have already been prosecuted in Manhattan for drug-related crimes.

Reuters