Honduras: Former First Lady Found Guilty of Corruption

TEGUCIGALPA (AP) — A court found former Honduran first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo guilty for the second time in a trial that was repeated for inconsistencies in the first trial, in which she had received a 58-year prison sentence that was annulled.

The wife of former President Porfirio Lobo Sosa (2010-2014), who was banned from entering her territory by the United States for allegedly accepting bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for political favors, was found responsible for the crimes of fraud and misappropriation of public funds.

For his part, Saúl Escobar, who served during the government of Lobo Sosa as Bonilla de Lobo's private secretary, was found guilty of fraud.

The hearing on individualization of the sentence, in which it will be known how long they must spend in prison, was scheduled for March 28. The penalty for the crime of fraud ranges from 12 to 16 years of imprisonment, while for misappropriation is 7 to 9 years.

After hearing the new judgment of the judge, the prosecutor's office requested that the precautionary measure of house detention be revoked from both of them and to proceed to their pre-trial detention.

“They are accused of having appropriated public funds that were earmarked for social projects,” Lucia Villars, a spokeswoman for the judiciary, told The Associated Press.

Both are linked to the case called “La Dama's Small Box”, which was initially disclosed by the Organization of American States (OAS) Mission for Support Against Corruption and Impunity (MACCIH).

According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the ex-president's wife seized more than 12 million lempiras (about $480,000), which she took from an account in the name of the Office of the First Lady and the Presidential House and deposited into her personal account four days before the end of her husband's term.

The Prosecutor's Office also points out that they appropriated 16 million lempiras (about $650,000) that they withdrew through more than 70 checks issued to nine front companies between 2011 and 2015.

The investigation, which lasted four months, ended with the capture of the former first lady in February 2018, when she was imprisoned at the National Penitentiary for Women for Social Adaptation.

On September 4, 2019, the former president's wife was sentenced to 58 years in prison for three crimes of misappropriation and eight of fraud, while Escobar received a 48-year sentence for several crimes of fraud.

However, on March 13, 2020, the criminal division of the Supreme Court of Justice unanimously decided to annul the sentence of both and ordered a new trial, citing a bad procedure in the conduct of the first trial. The two were subsequently released.