Juan Carlos Bonilla, former Honduran police chief, He was sentenced on August 1 to 19 years in prison in the United States on drug trafficking charges. A former president was also involved in the same case and was also sentenced this year.
According to the criteria of
Bonilla, 64, was sentenced by decision of the North American authorities. According to a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office for the Southern District of New York, federal judge Kevin Castel presided over the sentencing of Bonilla, who On February 6, he had already pleaded guilty to drug trafficking..
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) is involved in the same case.The former president was sentenced to 45 years in prison in June for being accused of having used money from Mexican drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán.
The indictment alleges that from at least 2004, through around 2022, “Hernández engaged in a corrupt and violent drug trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Hernandez allegedly received millions of dollars to use his public office, law enforcement and the military to supporting drug trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere“, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
Now, regarding Bonilla, former police chief of Honduras, it is known that signed a plea agreement in February of 2024 and his charges – which included conspiracy to import cocaine and aiding himself with firearms and destructive devices -, were reduced only to drug trafficking, which is why he avoided being co-accused with former President Juan Orlando Hernández.
However, the agreement did not prevent him from being accused of having committed crimes on behalf of former President Hernández and former congressman Juan Antonio ‘Tony’ Hernández.
The former police chief had asked for ‘mercy’
When Bonilla pleaded guilty in February of this year, he had asked Judge Kevin Castel for “mercy” for family and health reasons; however, the judge criticized him for his “way of life” and the accusation against him continued until he was sentenced on August 1.
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