Ex-Senior Honduran Police Officer Gets 14 Years in US Jail

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A former high-ranking Honduran police officer has been sentenced to 14 years jail for his part in a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) said in a press release.

"The sentencing of Carlos Alberto Valladares Garcia sends a strong message to drug traffickers across the globe," DEA Special Division chief Raymond Donovan said in the release on Friday. "As a member of the Honduran National Police, Valladares betrayed the trust of the people he served."

Valladares served in the Honduras National Police from 1995 through 2013. Since at least 2005, he worked with the Cachiros drug-trafficking syndicate to transport cocaine and assisted the gang, including committing murders, the DEA said.

Valladares, 43 pleaded guilty to the charges in April and has now been sentenced, the release added.