Former Honduras First Lady Says She Is Not Running for President To Protect Herself After US Convicts Husband Ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez

By Rick Martin First Posted: Mar 14, 2024 09:23 PM EDT

Honduras' saga with disgraced former President Juan Orlando Hernandez is not yet over, as his wife, former First Lady Ana Garcia de Hernandez is running for president herself. She recently sat down with the Associated Press for an interview and discussed why she wants her husband's old job.

First Lady Ana Garcia de Hernandez invited the AP into her home in Tegucigalpa, the same home where her husband was arrested back in February 2022 after the US requested that he be extradited over drug trafficking charges. She has since maintained that her husband was innocent and that the United States "had stained not only her family but all Hondurans."

"For me, it was painful to see that from another country they judged our nation because they tried an ex-president who was the head of Honduras," she told the outlet. "They accused him of being a drug trafficker and Honduras of being a narco-state when it is the complete opposite."

"With the affront they have made to Honduras, I want to raise my voice," she said, noting that Hondurans should feel indignant," she added. "This (presidential run) is a platform from which I am going to do that."

In that interview, the former first lady admitted that authorities might also pursue her and acknowledged that her husband's critics have suggested that she is running in an attempt to protect herself from prosecution. She stated, "There could be investigations, I imagine there will be, but here I am, I am not fleeing."

She also noted that her name never came up in the US case at all and maintained that she did nothing wrong, adding that should there be a case levied against her, it would have no basis.

Former Honduras First Lady Says She Did Not Take Decision To Run Lightly

During that same interview, Garcia de Hernandez claimed that many in her husband's National party have expressed their support for her bid. She also claimed that she has received many messages of support from Honduran citizens all over the country.

She added that her decision to announce her candidacy was not because she wanted to protect herself from prosecution but did say that she did not reach the decision to run for president lightly, telling the outlet that she did so after much consideration.

The former first lady also noted that she has already talked with her husband since a Manhattan court convicted him last Friday. He reportedly told her, "This is another test and we are going to continue exhausting appeals; the world saw the injustice that was committed and we have to remain standing."

Former Honduras First Lady and Daughter Begged Public for Donations To Fund Ex-President's Legal Fees

As Juan Orlando Hernandez was still battling US prosecutors in January, his wife, Ana Garcia de Hernandez, and his daughter, Isabela Hernandez, were trying to help fund his legal fees by asking people for money on Instagram.

According to The Daily Mail, the family even set up a GoFundMe for the former president and took to social media to promote it. Ultimately, the former president was found guilty of drug trafficking and could be facing life imprisonment in the US.

He reportedly accepted bribes from drug lords, including the Sinaloa Cartel's El Chapo. He then used that drug money to pay off election officials to let him win the presidential elections twice. He also protected drug traffickers despite being funded by the US to fight them.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: US court found Honduras ex-president guilty of cocaine trafficking • FRANCE 24 English