A New York court sentenced former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández to 45 years in prison on Wednesday for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States. The sentence includes an $8 million fine, less than the life imprisonment sought by prosecutors, given Hernández's age of 55, likely confining him to prison for life.

Protesters outside the Manhattan court condemned Hernández's past crimes, raising signs during the session. Federal prosecutors accused Hernández of facilitating the trafficking of approximately 500 tons of cocaine since 2004. He also faced charges of corruption and election fraud during his presidency from 2014 to 2022, using drug money to finance his political campaigns.

Hernández was extradited to the US in 2022 on charges of aiding drug trafficking in exchange for millions in bribes. He joins other former Latin American leaders convicted of similar charges, such as Panama's Manuel Noriega in 1992 and Guatemala's Alfonso Portillo in 2014.

Hernández left office on January 27, 2022, after eight years as president. He denied all charges, claiming they were part of a retaliatory conspiracy by drug traffickers his government had arrested or extradited to the US.