A former chief of Honduras’ national police was sentenced to 19 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to protect a cocaine shipment bound for the United States.
Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, 64, better known by his nickname “El Tigre” or “The Tiger,” was a member of the Honduran National Police for decades before becoming its chief for a year in 2012.
Prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum that he rose to power by enabling large-scale cocaine trafficking and protecting the drug trade through violence, including murder. They asked for a 30-year prison sentence.
The decision in Manhattan federal court was handed down by Judge P. Kevin Castel.
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In his written defense brief, defense attorney Donald Vogelman asked for a 10-year prison sentence. He wrote that Bonilla-Balladares “was not always involved in illegal activity,” and while he admitted to the drug conspiracy, “he categorically denies any involvement in any murder.”
“He was involved in the illegal drug trade at times. He actually did a good job serving his country most of the time. He was a very talented person, but unfortunately he lived a double life,” Vogelman said.
The lawyer said his client is in poor health and would be a “stigmatized person” if he survives prison and returns to Honduras.
“He will not return to criminal activity. That chapter of his life has already passed,” the attorney said.
Henri Osorio Canales, a retired Honduran national police chief, said the ruling was the latest example of his country’s agencies serving drug traffickers.
“Our government was in the hands of criminals, they controlled the fate of our people, and El Tigre was their armed organization,” he said.
Appearing in court Thursday, Bonilla Valladares’ namesake son, Juan Carlos Bonilla, told Honduran radio HRN that his father maintained his innocence and that he pleaded guilty in the hope that one day he could be free again.
“He told us it was all political persecution,” said the younger Bonilla. “It was very hard to see my father in that situation today.” He added that his father would appeal his sentence.
Prosecutors say Bonilla Valladares received lucrative bribes in exchange for providing armed protection while cocaine was transported across Honduras. They say he directed other corrupt law enforcement officials to protect the shipments and provided his co-conspirators with sensitive law enforcement information about impending raids.
Prosecutors said Bonilla Valladares, who took bribes paid with drug profits, “directed Honduran national police officers armed with machine guns to allow shipments of cocaine to pass through police checkpoints without inspection or seizure.”
“Drug State”
He was arrested on March 9, 2022, after U.S. prosecutors accused him of being an accomplice of former President Juan Orlando Hernández and his brother Tony Hernández. Before his sentencing, prosecutors said the brothers were “strong political allies” of Bonilla Valladares.
In June, Juan Orlando Hernandez Sentenced to 45 years in prison He was tried in Manhattan federal court after being convicted on drug charges in March, following a two-week trial held in his home state.
Hernandez, that guy U.S. federal prosecutors said: He has said his defense team will appeal his conviction, arguing that he turned the Central American nation into a “narco-state” during his presidency from 2014 to 2022.
The prosecution said the former president Sinaloa CartelIt is one of the most violent criminal organizations in Mexico. Its founder is Joaquin “El Chapo” GuzmanHe is serving a life sentence in the United States.
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Former Honduran congressman Tony Hernández was convicted of drug charges in the same court in 2021 and sentenced to life in a U.S. prison.
U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement that Valladares “committed the very crimes he swore to prevent.”
Drug Enforcement Administration Director Anne Milgram said Bonilla Valladares used her position as Honduran national police chief to “smuggle cocaine into the United States and protect drug traffickers.”
