A US prosecutor on Tuesday said that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez helped smuggle a lot of cocaine into the US.

The prosecutor was speaking at the trial of an accused drug trafficker - Geovanny Fuentes who allegedly bribed the president with $25,000. According to prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig, this rendered Fuentes “untouchable”.

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The prosecutor further said that the president was paid by Fuentes during meetings in 2013 and 2014, which made “the defendant bullet-proof”. Hernandez has continued to deny any links to drugs and bribery, and has been the President of Honduras since January 2014.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/honduras-president-accused-of-accepting-bribes-from-drug-traffickers-355765" hreflang="en">Honduras President accused of accepting bribes from drug traffickers</a>

The meetings between both of them were attended by Jose Sanchez, and accountant, who was reportedly shocked to see the defendant sitting with the president. According to the prosecutor, the money was laundered through a rice-growing company where Sanchez worked.

According to reports, the president told Fuentes "that they'd transport so much cocaine into the US they'd shove the drugs up the noses of the gringos”.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/honduras-becomes-50th-nation-to-ratify-un-nuclear-ban-treaty-337823" hreflang="en">Honduras becomes 50th nation to ratify UN nuclear ban treaty</a>

The defence attempted to derail such claims even before the witnesses showed up. "Supposedly $25,000 is all it costs to bribe a president," said defence attorney Eylan Schulman.&nbsp;

In 2019, the president’s brother, Tony Hernandez was convicted of large-scale drug trafficking. Hernandez, on Monday tweeted that witnesses at the trial were going to give "false testimony" against him.&nbsp;

A US prosecutor on Tuesday said that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez helped smuggle a lot of cocaine into the US. The prosecutor was speaking at the trial of an accused drug trafficker - Geovanny Fuentes who allegedly bribed the president with $25,000.

A US prosecutor on Tuesday said that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez helped smuggle a lot of cocaine into the US. The prosecutor was speaking at the trial of an accused drug trafficker - Geovanny Fuentes who allegedly bribed the president with $25,000. According to prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig, this rendered Fuentes “untouchable”. The prosecutor further said that the president was paid by Fuentes during meetings in 2013 and 2014, which made “the defendant bullet-proof”. Hernandez has continued to deny any links to drugs and bribery, and has been the President of Honduras since January 2014. Also read: Honduras President accused of accepting bribes from drug traffickers The meetings between both of them were attended by Jose Sanchez, and accountant, who was reportedly shocked to see the defendant sitting with the president. According to the prosecutor, the money was laundered through a rice-growing company where Sanchez worked. According to reports, the president told Fuentes "that they'd transport so much cocaine into the US they'd shove the drugs up the noses of the gringos”. Also read: Honduras becomes 50th nation to ratify UN nuclear ban treaty The defence attempted to derail such claims even before the witnesses showed up. "Supposedly $25,000 is all it costs to bribe a president," said defence attorney Eylan Schulman. In 2019, the president’s brother, Tony Hernandez was convicted of large-scale drug trafficking. Hernandez, on Monday tweeted that witnesses at the trial were going to give "false testimony" against him.

Honduran President Hernandez helped smuggle 'tons of cocaine' into US, claims prosecutor

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was declared on Sunday the winner of a heavily disputed presidential election held three weeks ago, despite mounting protests and opposition claims of fraud.

Electoral authorities made the announcement the day that Hernandez&#39;s leftist opponent, Salvador Nasralla, departed for the United States to highlight what he said was ballot tampering in the November 26 poll.

The declaration could deepen a spiral of violence that has occurred since the election, as anti-Hernandez protesters and police have squared off repeatedly.

Police have counted three deaths in the unrest. But the opposition says 20 people have died, and Amnesty International registered 14 fatalities.

The ballot was deeply contentious.

Hernandez, 49, stood for re-election against Nasralla, a 64-year-old former TV presenter, despite a constitutional ban on presidents having more than one term.

His conservative National Party said that rule was scrapped by a 2015 Supreme Court ruling.

But the opposition insists ballots were tampered with after the election, and says unusual breaks in the count that dragged out the tally over more than a week were suspicious.

The leftist opposition alliance said it was not recognizing Hernandez&#39;s win, and called for protests.

International observers also said they noted &quot;irregularities.&quot;The Supreme Electoral Tribunal had previously declined to name a victor, despite saying that its count of the ballots showed a slight margin in favor of Hernandez: 43 percent to 41 per cent for Nasralla.

But it had to do so by a December 26 deadline, or risk the entire election being invalidated.

Nasralla, the candidate of the leftist Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, is standing firm on his claim that he won the election, and that only fraud made it look like Hernandez had the edge.

He is insisting the entire vote be held again, with greater international scrutiny.

Ex-president Manuel Zelaya, part of the opposition alliance, said the armed forces and police should recognize Nasralla as the winner, as he said the Honduran people had.

&quot;This election is null and void; we are not respecting it,&quot; Zelaya told reporters.

On Sunday, Nasralla left for the United States to call attention to the fraud he said was perpetrated.

He was to meet the head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, officials from the US State Department and human rights groups.

The US visit &quot;may be decisive in finding a solution to the crisis brought about by fraud and to restore calm to the nation,&quot; he told journalists in Tegucigalpa before leaving.

Going into the election, the United States gave implicit support to Hernandez, who has presided over a crackdown on vicious gangs that are rampant in Honduras.

The country is beset by violence, poverty and corruption and provides many of the undocumented migrants headed to the United States.

Hernandez himself was in mourning over the death of his 51-year-old sister in an air force helicopter crash on Saturday that also killed five others.

Hilda Hernandez had served as the president&#39;s communications minister.

Electoral authorities made the announcement the day that Hernandez's leftist opponent, Salvador Nasralla, departed for the United States to highlight what he said was ballot tampering in the November 26 poll.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was declared on Sunday the winner of a heavily disputed presidential election held three weeks ago, despite mounting protests and opposition claims of fraud. Electoral authorities made the announcement the day that Hernandez's leftist opponent, Salvador Nasralla, departed for the United States to highlight what he said was ballot tampering in the November 26 poll. The declaration could deepen a spiral of violence that has occurred since the election, as anti-Hernandez protesters and police have squared off repeatedly. Police have counted three deaths in the unrest. But the opposition says 20 people have died, and Amnesty International registered 14 fatalities. The ballot was deeply contentious. Hernandez, 49, stood for re-election against Nasralla, a 64-year-old former TV presenter, despite a constitutional ban on presidents having more than one term. His conservative National Party said that rule was scrapped by a 2015 Supreme Court ruling. But the opposition insists ballots were tampered with after the election, and says unusual breaks in the count that dragged out the tally over more than a week were suspicious. The leftist opposition alliance said it was not recognizing Hernandez's win, and called for protests. International observers also said they noted "irregularities."The Supreme Electoral Tribunal had previously declined to name a victor, despite saying that its count of the ballots showed a slight margin in favor of Hernandez: 43 percent to 41 per cent for Nasralla. But it had to do so by a December 26 deadline, or risk the entire election being invalidated. Nasralla, the candidate of the leftist Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, is standing firm on his claim that he won the election, and that only fraud made it look like Hernandez had the edge. He is insisting the entire vote be held again, with greater international scrutiny. Ex-president Manuel Zelaya, part of the opposition alliance, said the armed forces and police should recognize Nasralla as the winner, as he said the Honduran people had. "This election is null and void; we are not respecting it," Zelaya told reporters. On Sunday, Nasralla left for the United States to call attention to the fraud he said was perpetrated. He was to meet the head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, officials from the US State Department and human rights groups. The US visit "may be decisive in finding a solution to the crisis brought about by fraud and to restore calm to the nation," he told journalists in Tegucigalpa before leaving. Going into the election, the United States gave implicit support to Hernandez, who has presided over a crackdown on vicious gangs that are rampant in Honduras. The country is beset by violence, poverty and corruption and provides many of the undocumented migrants headed to the United States. Hernandez himself was in mourning over the death of his 51-year-old sister in an air force helicopter crash on Saturday that also killed five others. Hilda Hernandez had served as the president's communications minister.

Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez declared winner of disputed poll

A US judge has delayed until January 27 this week&#39;s planned sentencing of disgraced former Honduran president Rafael Callejas in the sweeping corruption scandal rocking world football. The 72-year-old was scheduled this Friday to become the first defendant sentenced in the FIFA scandal in New York after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and wire fraud. 
 
But Judge Raymond Dearie has accepted a request from the defence, with consent from government prosecutors, to adjourn until January 27, a court document showed. No reason was publicly stated. 
 
It is the third sentencing to be adjourned, following former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb and Argentine-Italian marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco, delayed until November and December respectively. 
 
Callejas has been free on a $4 million bail in the United States since leaving Honduras by private jet last December to face justice. He served as president of Honduras from 1990 to 1994. He was head of the country&#39;s football federation from 2002 to 2015, and is also a former member of FIFA&#39;s Television and Marketing Committee. 
 
He originally faced eight charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering, to which he pleaded not guilty on December 15. He subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts on March 28. 
 
US prosecutors in New York have indicted 40 football and sports marketing executives over allegedly receiving tens of millions of bribes and kickbacks in the largest corruption scandal in the history of soccer. The corruption investigation precipitated the downfall of longtime FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his former heir apparent, Michel Platini, who have both been banned from the sport for six years for ethics violations. 
 
(AFP)

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Callejas was to become the first defendant sentenced in the FIFA scandal on Friday

A US judge has delayed until January 27 this week's planned sentencing of disgraced former Honduran president Rafael Callejas in the sweeping corruption scandal rocking world football. The 72-year-old was scheduled this Friday to become the first defendant sentenced in the FIFA scandal in New York after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and wire fraud. But Judge Raymond Dearie has accepted a request from the defence, with consent from government prosecutors, to adjourn until January 27, a court document showed. No reason was publicly stated. It is the third sentencing to be adjourned, following former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb and Argentine-Italian marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco, delayed until November and December respectively. Callejas has been free on a $4 million bail in the United States since leaving Honduras by private jet last December to face justice. He served as president of Honduras from 1990 to 1994. He was head of the country's football federation from 2002 to 2015, and is also a former member of FIFA's Television and Marketing Committee. He originally faced eight charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering, to which he pleaded not guilty on December 15. He subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts on March 28. US prosecutors in New York have indicted 40 football and sports marketing executives over allegedly receiving tens of millions of bribes and kickbacks in the largest corruption scandal in the history of soccer. The corruption investigation precipitated the downfall of longtime FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his former heir apparent, Michel Platini, who have both been banned from the sport for six years for ethics violations. (AFP)

Judge delays sentencing for former Honduran president in football scandal