NEW YORK — Former Honduran president and U.S. ally Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced by a U.S. judge on Wednesday to 45 years in a federal prison and an $8 million fine for running a “narco-state” that helped send South American cocaine to the United States.

       Hernández, 55, who was convicted of federal drug and weapons charges in March, built his political career on millions of dollars in bribes from traffickers in Honduras and Mexico, U.S. prosecutors said. During his two terms as president from 2014 to 2022, they said, he helped move at least 400 tons of cocaine to the United States while protecting traffickers from extradition and prosecution.