A bribed cop is a problem. A bought president is another. Honduras' Juan Orlando Hernández: 45 years in prison in New York, 2024. He had drug labs protected by the military.
Honduras: The President as Drug Boss
Juan Orlando Hernández ruled Honduras from 2014 to 2022. In June 2024, a New York court sentenced him to 45 years in prison.
- •1.5 million dollars in bribes from El Chapo personally
- •Military helicopters protected cocaine shipments
- •His brother Tony: life sentence for 185 tons of cocaine
What remains
- Elections - The candidate with the most drug money wins. Or his opponent dies.
- Courts - Judges in Guatemala need bodyguards. Some flee abroad.
- Press - Reporting risks everything. Most stay silent.
- Businesses - Money laundering pays no taxes. Honest companies close.
Guatemala
In Petén Department there are jungle airstrips. Everyone knows. Nobody closes them. The mayors are paid. So is the police. Prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval, who investigated the corruption, was fired in 2021 and fled to the US.
Mexico
In Sinaloa there was a rule: cops don't drive after sundown. Patrol, and you die. In Michoacán cartels decide who becomes mayor. In Guerrero 43 students disappeared. The police handed them to the cartel.
Plata o plomo. Silver or lead. This isn't a negotiation. This is a notification.
The calculation
A police chief earns 800 euros a month. A cartel offers 5,000. The alternative is a bullet. The decision doesn't take long.
- Police - 50-70% on cartel payroll in affected regions
- Military - Entire units desert. With weapons.
- Justice - 97% of crimes in Mexico are never solved
- Politics - Mayors, governors, congress members
- Media - The safest story is no story
Cocaine pays for all of it. Every gram, everywhere.