New York, August 5 (RHC)-- The ex-chief of the Honduran National Police has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to cocaine trafficking charges. 

Juan Carlos “El Tigre” Bonilla was extradited to the United States in 2022 and was expected to go on trial with former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, when Bonilla accepted a plea deal.

Bonilla was accused of deploying Honduran armed forces to protect drug traffickers and enable the flow of cocaine shipments in Honduras while committing widespread human rights abuses, while receiving the backing of the United States government. 

Former Honduran president and longtime U.S. ally Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. prison in June after a jury convicted him of cocaine trafficking.