The biggest trial for Honduras has now been decided in the United States as a New York jury found former President Juan Orlando Hernandez guilty of drug trafficking after prosecutors accused him of turning the country into a "Narco State" while in office.

As Latin Post previously reported, the trial of the former president is hotly followed back in Honduras despite it not being televised, with local news, YouTubers, and everyday citizens intently watching every happening and argument in the case with scrutiny.

The US jury found that Hernandez conspired with drug cartels during his time as the most powerful man in Honduras, helping drug cartels that paid him off move over 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras and to the United States.

The former president was also accused of receiving millions of dollars worth of bribes from the cartels and using that money to rise in power, including bribing election officials during the 2013 and 2017 elections. Among those who bribed them is the Sinaloa Cartel founder, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

With the jury finding him guilty, the former president now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for each of the charges he was found guilty of. However, that sentence may not be executed immediately as his lawyer has vowed to appeal the jury's decision.

US Justice Secretary Merrick Garland commented on the verdict, saying that Hernandez "abused his position as President of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences."

"As today's conviction demonstrates, the Justice Department is disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go," the Attorney General added.

Honduran Protesters Celebrate Juan Orlando Hernandez Trial Decision Outside Courthouse

The trial is one of the most widely followed trials in Honduras, and it was not even happening on Honduran soil. Nonetheless, there were many of his critics who gathered outside the New York courthouse where the trial happened and awaited the decision during the two weeks that it was happening.

According to the Associated Press, there were 100 Hernandez critics who were gathered on the street outside the courthouse. As soon as news of the verdict reached them, they began applauding and jumping in celebration that Hernandez was going to prison.

Juan Orlando Hernandez First Latin American Leader Convicted in US Since Panama's Daniel Noriega

The conviction of Hernandez is not the first time that a former leader of a Central American country was convicted of a drug-related crime in the US. The most infamous one was former Panamanian dictator Daniel Noriega.

Noriega was convicted on drug trafficking charges in a Miami court in 1992, per the BBC. Hernandez's conviction is the first time this has happened since then.

Meanwhile, former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was convicted on money laundering charges in a New York court in 2014.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Former Honduran president convicted - ABC News