NEW YORK (AP) — The former chief of the Honduran National Police was sentenced Thursday to 19 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in a conspiracy to protect shipments of cocaine destined for the United States.
Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, 64, better known as “El Tigre” or “The Tiger,” was a member of the Honduran National Police for decades before becoming its leader for a year in 2012.
He rose to power by enabling cocaine trafficking on a massive sale and using violence, including murder, to protect the drug trade, prosecutors said in a presentencing brief. They had asked that he be sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The sentence in Manhattan federal court was announced by Judge P. Kevin Castel.
In a brief by the defense, attorney Donald Vogelman requested a sentence of 10 years in prison. He wrote that Bonilla Valladares “was not always involved in illegal activities” and that although he admitted his guilt in a drug conspiracy, “he adamantly denies being involved in any murders.”
“From time to time he was involved in the illegal drug trade. He actually did good work in service to his country most of the time. He was a very gifted man who lived a dual life which was unfortunate,” Vogelman said.
The lawyer said his client was in poor health and “will be a marked man” if he survives incarceration and is returned to Honduras.
“He will not go back to criminal activities. That chapter in his life is behind him,” the lawyer said.
In Honduras, retired Honduran National Police commissioner Henry Osorio Canales said the sentence was the latest example of how his country's institutions were at the service of drug traffickers.
“We had a government that was in criminal hands, which steered the destiny of the people and El Tigre was its armed branch,” he said.
A son of Bonilla Valladares by the same name, Juan Carlos Bonilla, who was in the courtroom Thursday, told Honduras’ HRN radio that his father maintains his innocence and only made a guilty plea because he hopes to one day be free again.
“He told us it was all a political persecution,” the younger Bonilla said. “Today was very difficult to see my father in that situation.” He added that his father would appeal his sentence.
Prosecutors said Bonilla Valladares accepted lucrative bribes for providing armed protection as cocaine was transported across Honduras. They said he directed other corrupt law enforcement officers to protect those shipments and furnished sensitive law enforcement information about pending raids to his co-conspirators.
He was arrested March 9, 2022, after he was labeled by U.S. prosecutors as a co-conspirator of former President Juan Orlando Hernández and the president’s brother Tony Hernández. Prosecutors said prior to his sentencing that the brothers were the “powerful political allies” of Bonilla Valladares.
In June, Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in prison in Manhattan federal court after he was convicted in March on drug charges after a two-week trial that was closely followed in his home country.
Tony Hernández, a former Honduran congressman, was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison in 2021 in the same courthouse for his own conviction on drug charges.
In a release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Valladares “committed the very crimes he was sworn to prevent.”
Anne Milgram, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Bonilla Valladares exploited his position as head of the Honduran National Police to “traffic cocaine to the United States and protect drug traffickers.”
Associated Press writer Marlon González in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, contributed to this report
FILE - Honduras Police Chief Gen. Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, also known as the Tiger, or "El Tigre," salutes during an event in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Dec. 21, 2012. The former chief of the Honduran National Police was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, to 19 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in a conspiracy to protect shipments of cocaine destined for the United States. (AP Photo, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New York Mets’ Mark Vientos was well aware of the situation, knowing exactly why the Los Angeles Dodgers walked Francisco Lindor intentionally right in front of him to load the bases.
Vientos told himself to be insulted anyway.
Revenge came sweet, even if it was somewhat manufactured, when Vientos hit a second-inning grand slam that paved the way for the Mets’ 7-3 victory to even the National League Championship Series at a game each.
After Lindor hit a home run to lead off the game and end the Dodgers’ 33-inning scoreless streak, they elected to take their chances with someone else.
“I feel like it’s just the praise for Francisco,” Vientos said. “You’ve got Francisco ahead of me, and he hit a home run earlier in the game. So they would rather take a chance on me than him. But I use it as motivation. I’m like, all right, you want me up, I’m going to show you, whatever.”
On a 95.1-mph fastball from Dodgers right-hander Landon Knack, Vientos launched his grand slam to center field on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.
“I’m super proud that he stayed within himself and was able to execute,” Lindor said.
Vientos has been a quick study this season, coming up for good in May when Joey Wendle was designated for assignment and taking over the job at third base soon thereafter. His extended at-bat against Knack to power the Mets to an NLCS victory only looked as if he was a seasoned postseason veteran.
The reality is that Vientos is in his first postseason and played in just his ninth playoff game Monday. He now has 11 RBIs, one off the club record set by John Olerud in 1999 and Curtis Granderson in 2005. He also has six multihit postseason games, tied for the Mets’ high with Olerud (1999) and Todd Zeile (2000).
“Since he got here, he’s been doing some crazy things,” said Mets starter Sean Manaea, who gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits over five innings while earning the win in Game 2.
In 111 games during the regular season, Vientos broke through with 27 home runs and 71 RBIs. He batted .266 with an .838 OPS.
His amazing run of consistency started in June with seven home runs and 17 RBIs. He hit six home runs with 17 RBIs in July before going for six and 15 in August, with six and 14 in September.
He has, perhaps, saved his best for the postseason with three home runs over his last five games, including a two-homer game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the NL Division Series.
“I mean, I’ve been a sponge around all these guys, all these guys with experience, All-Stars,” Vientos said. “A lot of them are great players that I’m surrounded by, I’m very fortunate. I ask a lot of questions. ... I haven’t been in the postseason, and it’s just like, ‘Hey, how do I go about this?’”
Vientos is especially appreciative for guidance from veteran J.D. Martinez, who has 39 postseason games and 156 playoff plate appearances to his credit, not to mention a World Series title with the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
“He kind of like brings the guys together and kind of tells us, just to keep our emotions even-keeled, especially if the opponent goes up and we’re down or vice versa,” Vientos said. “The team that keeps their emotions like that the best are the ones that come out on top. So I feel like that’s what I’ve been focused on.”
Now comes a return home for Games 3, 4 and 5 in the series. Vientos had 17 home runs and 44 RBIs in 57 games at home in the regular season and 10 home runs with 27 RBIs in 54 road games.
“The power is real,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You didn’t see a big swing. It was, ‘Let me put it in play, let me stay in the big part of the ballpark.’ And he was able to drive that one.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Los Angeles Dodgers centerfielder Andy Pages (44) watches as a ball goes over the wall for a grand slam home run by New York Mets' Mark Vientos during the second inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos, left, celebrates after a grand slam home run with Tyrone Taylor against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos, right, celebrates after his grand slam home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos watches his grand slam home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos celebrates in the dugout after his grand slam home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos celebrates as he rounds the bases after his grand slam home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
