NEW YORK: The trial on drug charges of Juan Antonio Hernandez, brother of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, began on Wednesday in New York amid expectations of new revelations that could threaten the Honduran leader's reputation.
Hernandez, 41, wore a blue suit and appeared calm during the selection process of 12 jurors and six alternates. For security reasons, the jurors will remain anonymous and will only be identified with numbers, as is typical for major drug trafficking trials.PURSUIT OF ALLEGED HONDURAN TRAFFICKERS The Manhattan prosecutor's office filed a motion in August alleging that President Hernandez received at least US$1.5 million in drug money from one of the prosecution's cooperating witnesses for his first campaign, and US$40,000 for the second.