Disgraced ex-president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez is pleading online for donations to fund the jailed strongman’s legal battle against federal prosecutors’ allegations that he raked in millions from powerful drug cartels, DailyMail.com can reveal .
Hernandez, a former US ally who ruled the Central American nation for eight years from 2014, was extradited to the United States in April 2022 on charges that he “built a corrupt and brutally violent empire based on the illegal trafficking of tons of cocaine into the United States.”
He is believed to have worked as a smuggler with the Sinaloa cartel, once led by Joaquín Guzman Loera, also known as El Chapo, who was jailed for 30 years in 2019 after being convicted of murder plot and drug charges.
Prosecutors allege he personally accepted $1 million in bribes from jailed notorious drug lord El Chapo, also known as Joaquin Guzman, to protect his thugs from arrest.
They also allege that he used the military and other law enforcement agencies to support the gangs’ illegal activities.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández faces drug trafficking and firearms charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
The ex-president’s daughter, Isabela Hernandez, posted a video on Instagram urging people to donate to a GoFundMe campaign
Wife Ana Garcia de Hernandez posted her own video explaining that her husband’s bid to delay the start of the trial to raise enough money for his lawyers had failed.
His brother Tony, a former congressman, was sentenced to life in prison in March 2021 on drug trafficking charges and ordered to pay $138.5 million in forfeitures, which prosecutors called “blood money” from drug trafficking in their sentencing memo.
But it appears the 55-year-old has now fallen on hard times, with the former First Family of Honduras forced to post a series of humiliating videos in which he begged his former constituents to cough up much-needed cash to fund his hefty legal troubles . accounts.
According to social media reports, the trial in Manhattan will begin on February 5.
In a video uploaded on Sunday, Ana Daniela Hernández Garcia, one of his daughters, urges her supporters to stand up for his lawyers by donating to a GoFundMe page.
“Our fight to prove the innocence of our father, Juan Orlando, will not stop. To support this cause, visit our GoFundMe link to donate or support.” she says in a piece-to-camera that also includes links to the fundraising site.
Ex-Honduran First Lady Ana Garcia Carias, also 55, explains in her video that her husband’s attempt to delay the start of the trial and raise enough money to pay his lawyers had failed.
“We ask for your support by donating regardless of the amount to strengthen Juan Orlando’s defense,” she said.
The indictment prepared by U.S. judicial officials charges Hernandez with three counts of drug and weapons crimes that could land him in prison for decades if convicted — an effective life sentence.
Federal prosecutors believe the former president used millions in ill-gotten gains to finance his presidential campaigns
Court documents reveal that Hernandez conspired to make Honduras one of the world’s largest transshipment points for cocaine to the United States
The indictment prepared by US judicial officials charges Hernandez (pictured with his wife and three children) with three counts of drug and weapons crimes
Videos posted to Instagram in support of the ex-president use the hashtags “innocence,” “he will return,” “truth” and “justice”
The trial against Hernandez starts on February 5 in Manhattan (photo: the former president arrives in New York in August 2023)
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show that federal prosecutors believe he diverted millions in ill-gotten gains to help finance his presidential campaigns.
They said Hernandez “abused his position as president of Honduras to run the country as a narco-state, to enrich himself and to corruptly gain and maintain power.”
Prosecutors allege that the politician, who was extradited last April, “along with his co-conspirators, helped make Honduras one of the world’s largest transshipment points for cocaine to the United States.”
In the extradition request, the U.S. said he “participated in a violent drug trafficking conspiracy to receive multi-ton shipments of cocaine sent from Colombia and Venezuela and other locations to Honduras via air or sea routes.”
The request alleges that the drugs – totaling 500 tons since 2004 – were then transported to the Guatemalan border and from there to the US.
Hernandez pleaded not guilty to the charges last year, with his lawyers accusing US authorities of treating their client as a “prisoner of war.”
He claims the traffickers took him to court as part of an effort to reduce their own sentences.
His successor as Honduran president, the left-wing Xiomara Castro, came to power promising to eradicate drug-related corruption. He defeated Nasry Asfura of Hernandez’s right-wing National Party.