Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado

Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado (Thanks, Lempira, June 13 of 1978), better known as Tony Hernández, is a Honduran lawyer and drug trafficker, was a deputy in the Honduran National Congress (2014-2018) and was found guilty in the United States of crimes related to drug trafficking in October 2019, and later sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years in prison in March 2021. He is the brother of the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando, and was the brother of the deceased Hilda Hernández . His parents are Juan Hernández Villanueva and Elvira Alvarado Castillo.

Public offices

Tony had been re-elected as substitute deputy for Samuel Reyes in the 2013 elections, representing the department of Lempira. But he became a proprietary deputy when Reyes was appointed Minister of Defense. He was also a clerk and receiver at the Supreme Court of Justice, Head of the Registry Implementation Unit at the Property Institute and President of the Commission for Development and Social Inclusion of the National Congress.

Conviction for drug trafficking

Background

On October 13, 2016, the Captain of the Armed Forces Santos Orellana Rodríguez, identified by the United States as having alleged ties to drug trafficking, denounced in a national media outlet that They offered him a million dollars for not reporting the discovery of a helicopter that supposedly belonged to Tony Hernández and that had drugs. He also said that agents of the DEA "forced" him to testify against Tony Hernández and Wilter Blanco as those responsible for a plan to assassinate the US ambassador James Nealon. Following this, Hernández denied the accusations at a press conference and traveled to the United States in October to give testimony to the Miami Department of Justice. Also in January 2017, he gave statements to the Public Ministry of Honduras.

On March 17, 2017, Tony was accused by the former head of the Los Cachiros cartel Devis Rivera Maradiaga, in statements to a New York court, of receiving a bribe in exchange for efforts to settle a debt that the government had with a money laundering company of that cartel. This alleged cooperation between Devis Rivera and Tony Hernández would have occurred between 2013 and 2015. Tony again denied the accusations.

Capture and judicial process

On November 23, 2018, Hernández was arrested at the Miami airport Charged with: Conspiracy to Import Cocaine, Possession of Machine Guns and Destructive Devices, Conspiracy to Possess Machine Guns and Destructive Devices, and Making False Statements in the Presence of U.S. Officials—May 25 October 2016. Hours later he was transferred to New York to begin his judicial process.

The prosecution's accusation stated that Tony Hernández "was involved in all stages" of the trafficking of tons of cocaine destined for the United States, that he bribed Honduran officials "in charge of enforcing the law" and "solicited large bribes from the main traffickers. of drugs," who conspired "with some of the most dangerous transnational networks in Mexico and Colombia," and who "worked with other drug traffickers" in Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, and elsewhere since [[2004] ] until 2016. He was specifically accused of accepting a $50,000 bribe from Devis Rivera Maradiaga. Among other details, the prosecution also stated that Tony had access to cocaine laboratories in Honduras and Colombia, where "some of the cocaine was marked with the symbol "TH", that is, "Tony Hernández"".

The trial against Tony Hernández began on October 2, 2019, having been a preliminary hearing was held in June. The judge in charge, Kevin Castel, denied that he defended himself in freedom, considering him a "significant flight risk and a risk to the community." On October 18, 2019, he was found guilty of all charges, initially the declaration of his sentence was set for January 17, 2020, however, it was postponed several times. Hernández faced a minimum sentence of 40 years and a maximum of life in prison.

On March 30, 2021, Tony Hernández was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in prison. At the hearing, Hernández complained about the procedure, alleging that "Brady violations" had been committed and said he distrusted his lawyers. Judge Kevin Castell, for his part, said he had not found any type of violation during that judicial process, and portrayed Hernández as a facilitator for the transport of drugs from other drug lords and owner of a cocaine laboratory in Colombia; and he also said that he sold protection from the Honduran government to drug lords like El Chapo Guzmán and that he was responsible for several murders. Prosecutors also spoke out pointing to Juan Orlando Hernández as a key player in drug trafficking along with his brother, allowing the latter to operate a transportation network of at least 185 thousand kilograms of cocaine, which he operated for 15 years. Prior to sentencing, President Hernández spoke saying: “For the whole family, the news expected from New York will be painful. And what more can be said about a trial in which the testimony of the main 'cooperator' of the prosecutors is now exposed by the DEA's own secret recordings as a lie?». The Liberty and Refoundation Party also announced that it would seek a political trial against the president, by collecting signatures. For their part, supporters of the The ruling party National Party of Honduras held a march under the slogan "Blue Force", in support of Juan Orlando, who was present and assured that the accusations of drug traffickers confessed against him are revenge for his fight against organized crime.