Rosa Elena Bonilla was the first lady of Honduras from 2010 to 2014. Her husband, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, was elected following a military coup d'etat that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
Since early last year, Bonilla has been incarcerated. Crimes she was accused of the stem from her time as the first lady. Bonilla was accused of undue appropriation of funds and fraud. And on September 4th, she was found guilty.
She has been sentenced to 58 years in prison
While her husband was president, Bonilla allegedly spent/misused an equivalent of more than $770,000.
The money came from donations and public funds. It was supposed to be used for social programs.
But according to the prosecution, Bonilla used the money for personal expenses. She allegedly paid for medical treatment, jewelry, school tuition and construction with funds. Yahoo reports that her lawyer maintains that she's innocent and said an appeal would be filed. She could have been sentenced for up to an 87-year prison sentence. A 58-year sentence was the minimum she could have been sentenced to.
Saul Escobar, a close associate of Bonilla's, was also found guilty. Escobar was charged with fraud and embezzlement of public funds. He was sentenced to 48 years in prison. But CNA reports that because of Honduran law, neither would likely serve their whole sentence.
Instead, they would probably serve up to 30 years. Bonilla's brother-in-law, Mauricio Mora was also charged with crimes. Unlike the others, he was acquitted.
Bonilla is not the first member of her family to be convicted of a serious crime. Her stepson, Fabio Lobo, pled guilty to the crime of conspiring to import cocaine to the United States.
He received a 24-year prison sentence.
She and her husband have been married since 1992
Bonilla worked as an interior designer in her early adulthood. She later worked as a secretary in Porfirio Lobo Sosa's office. At the time he was a member of the National Congress and a government official in Olancho. Olancho is the largest department of Honduras.
Honduran departments are similar to U.S. states or Canadian provinces. Lobo had come from a prominent political family.
The two eventually got married and had three children. Lobo would become president of the National Congress and an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2005. He would be victorious four years later.
Lobo himself has been the subject of legal speculation. He has been linked in the past to the Cachiros criminal organization. The alleged links have been referenced in trials taking place in the United States.
The trials include that of Lobo's son. An organization member claimed to have bribed Lobo and other high-ranking government officials. He also said he received assistance from the government in committing crimes. Lobo has denied these allegations.
