Honduras ex-president Hernández faces charges in U.S. court

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has appeared virtually in federal court in New York to face drug trafficking and weapons charges after he was arrested in Honduras and extradited to the United States. Hernández boarded an airplane in Honduras with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday and arrived in the New York area early Friday. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernández abused his position as president of Honduras “to operate the country as a narco-state.” Hernández has denied any wrongdoing. In a video message released Thursday, he said he is being ”unjustly subjected to prosecution.”