For the third time in four years, Hondurans are calling for the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, decrying him as a “narco dictator.” In early August, Hernandez was named in a 44-page court filing by the U.S. Southern District of New York, which alleges he funded his 2013 election campaign with $1.5 million in drug trafficking money.
Hondurans have poured into the streets since the charges were announced, joining a protest movement against Hernandez that is entering its fifth month. Demonstrations kicked off in the spring against unpopular reforms his government proposed to health care and education.
The U.S. court filing names Hernandez as a coconspirator in an open Drug Enforcement Agency investigation of his brother, former Honduran congressman Tony Hernandez, who is accused of trafficking drugs and weapons. Arrested in 2018 in the United States, Tony Hernandez will face trial in New York this fall. The filing also implicates former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo as another coconspirator.