Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado, known as Tony Hernández (born June 13, 1978), is a Honduran convicted drug trafficker, lawyer, politician, member of the

National Party of Honduras The National Party of Honduras (PNH; ) is a conservative political party in Honduras founded on 27 February 1902, by Manuel Bonilla Chirinos. Historically it has been one of the two most influential parties in the country. The party's platform ...

and former deputy in the

National Congress of Honduras The National Congress () is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras. Organization The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The nominal President of the National Congress of Honduras is currently Luis Redondo. Its m ...

(2014–2018) representing Lempira. He is the brother of

Juan Orlando Hernández Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado (; born 28 October 1968), also known by his initials JOH, is a Honduran lawyer, former politician and convicted drug trafficker who was 38th president of Honduras from 27 January 2014 to 27 January 2022 for two ...

, the former

President of Honduras The president of Honduras (), officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. According to the 1982 Constitution of H ...

. On November 23, 2018, Juan Antonio Hernández was arrested in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

charges. On November 26, 2018, he was formally charged in a federal court with importing tons of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

into the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

between 2004 and 2016, as well as on weapons charges. On October 18, 2019, he was found guilty of drug trafficking charges. Hernández used the millions of dollars he earned through the drug trade and bribes to help fund the National Party of Honduras, led by his brother. This included a million-dollar bribe from former

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel (, , after the native Sinaloa region), also known as the ''CDS'', the ''Guzmán-Loera Organization'', the ''Federation'', the ''Sinaloa Cartel'', or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, drug trafficking transnational organized cri ...

leader

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (; born 4 April 1957), commonly known as "El Chapo", is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel. Guzmán is believed to be responsible for the deaths of over 34,000 people, ...

. Despite his brother pledging to cooperate with US counter-narcotic operations in return for economic aid to Honduras, Hernández was also found to have alerted drug traffickers about US-led night raids. Hernández was accused of ordering the assassinations of multiple people, including former business partner Nery López Sanabria after he was convicted. In addition, he also arranged the murders of López Sanabria's lawyer as well as the warden of the prison that housed López Sanabria. On March 30, 2021, Tony Hernández was sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel. His brother, the former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was also convicted March 8 2024 in New York of charges that he conspired with drug traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the United States.

Family life

His parents are Juan Hernández Villanueva and Elvira Alvarado Castillo. He is married to Miriam Vanessa Cruz Sierra. He has 16 siblings, including

and Hilda Hernández (1966–2017).

References

External links

Indictment of Juan Antonio Hernández
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernández, Juan Antonio 1978 births Deputies of the National Congress of Honduras 21st-century Honduran lawyers Living people People from Lempira Department National Party of Honduras politicians Honduran people imprisoned abroad Honduran politicians convicted of crimes Honduran prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government