Honduras Ex-Police Chief Pleads Guilty to US Drug Charge Ahead of Ex-President’s Trial, Reports Say

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK – A former Honduran police chief has pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge in the United States, just days before the trial of the country’s ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is facing similar allegations.

Court records indicate that Juan Carlos Bonilla, also known as "El Tigre", entered his guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to import cocaine during a court hearing. Previously, he had maintained a not guilty plea and was set to stand trial alongside Hernandez in federal court in Manhattan starting February 12. Hernandez will now be tried separately.

Prosecutors allege that while leading Honduras’ national police force between 2012 and 2013 under President Porfirio Lobo, Bonilla directed police to allow cocaine shipments to pass through checkpoints without inspection in exchange for bribes.

Bonilla is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for June 25. He was extradited to the United States in 2022.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to accusations of accepting bribes from drug cartels during his presidency from 2014 to 2022. Following his departure from office, he was extradited and has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for nearly two years.

In related developments, Hernandez’s cousin Mauricio Hernandez pleaded guilty last Friday to one count of cocaine importation conspiracy.

While Hernandez was regarded as an ally of the U.S. on issues like drug trafficking and immigration, the U.S. Department of Justice has described his leadership as one that turned Honduras into a "narco-state," alleging that he accepted bribes from Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the imprisoned leader of the Sinaloa cartel.

Hernandez has claimed that traffickers are attempting to discredit him in revenge for his efforts against drug trafficking and to seek leniency in their own legal troubles.