President Trump announced Friday that he will pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in 2024 on cocaine trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
President Trump explained his decision on social media, writing that Hernandez was “treated very harshly and unfairly,” “according to many people whom I greatly respect.”
The pardon of the convicted drug trafficker comes as the Trump administration carries out deadly military strikes in the Caribbean in an effort to combat drugs.
A jury in U.S. federal court in New York found last year that Hernandez conspired with drug traffickers and used the power of the military and national police to allow large quantities of cocaine to flow unhindered into the United States. In sentencing Hernandez to 45 years in prison, the judge in the case called Hernandez a “power-hungry, two-faced politician” who protects selected traffickers.
Trial witnesses included traffickers who admitted to committing dozens of murders, and Hernandez said he was a staunch defender of some of the world’s most powerful cocaine dealers, including notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Mr. Hernandez, who served two terms as leader of the Central American nation of about 10 million people, had appealed his conviction and sentence to a U.S. prison in Hazelton, West Virginia.
Immediately after President Trump’s pardon announcement, Hernandez’s wife and children gathered on the steps of their home in Tegucigalpa, knelt in prayer and thanked Hernandez for returning to his family after nearly four years away.
It was from the same house that Honduran authorities took him in 2022, just months after leaving office. He was extradited to the United States to stand trial.
Garcia said she just spoke to Hernandez and was able to break the news to him.
“He didn’t know the news yet. Believe me, his voice was bursting with emotion when we shared it,” she said.
Garcia thanked Trump, saying he had righted a wrong, and claimed Hernández’s prosecution was an orchestrated conspiracy by drug traffickers and “radical leftists” to exact revenge on the former president.
She said she had not been told exactly when Hernandez would be back, but said, “I hope he will be back in the next few days.”
Mr. Hernandez’s lawyer, Renato C. Stabile, expressed gratitude for Mr. Trump’s actions. “A great injustice has been righted and I am very excited about the future partnership between the United States and Honduras,” Stabile said.
U.S. prosecutors said Mr. Hernandez collaborated with drug traffickers in 2004 and accepted millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from local lawmaker to president of the National Assembly to the country’s highest office.
In his trial testimony, Hernandez acknowledged that drug funds were paid to virtually every political party in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes. During his trial, Hernandez claimed he was being persecuted by politicians and drug traffickers.
Trump’s post on Friday was part of a broader message of support for Nasri “Tito” Asufura, who is running for president of Honduras, and Trump said the United States would only support the country if he wins. If Asufura loses Sunday’s election, President Trump threatened in a post, “America will never put good money after bad, because the wrong leader can only have devastating consequences for any country.”
Asufura, 67, is running for president for the second time on the conservative National Party ticket. He served as mayor of Tegucigalpa and promised to solve Honduras’ infrastructure needs. He has previously been accused of embezzling public funds, which he denies.
In addition to Asfura, there are two other potential candidates in the Honduran presidential race. The first is Rixie Moncada, who served as Secretary of Finance and then Secretary of Defense before running for president from the incumbent Democratic Socialist Libre Party. Former TV personality Salvador Nasrallah is running for president for the fourth time, this time as a Liberal Party candidate.
Trump characterized the Honduras election as a test of democracy, suggesting in another post on Truth Social that if Asufura loses, the country could go down the same path as Venezuela and fall under the influence of its leader, Nicolás Maduro.
President Trump has sought to pressure Maduro, ordering a series of attacks on ships the United States suspects are carrying drugs and increasing the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean with warships, including the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
The US president has not ruled out military action or covert CIA action against Venezuela, but he has indicated that he is open to dialogue with Maduro.
Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has ruled as a leftist, but has maintained a pragmatic and cooperative stance toward the Republican administration in the United States. During her time as commander of U.S. Southern Command, she received visits from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Army General Laura Richardson, among others. President Trump even reversed his threat to end Honduras’ extradition treaty and military cooperation with the United States.
Under the Castro regime, Honduras accepted deported citizens from the United States, and Honduras also acted as a link between deported Venezuelans and their return to Venezuela.
Argentine President Javier Millei, a staunch ally of President Trump, also expressed support for Asfra in this weekend’s elections.
“I fully support Tito Azufura, the candidate who best represents the opposition to the leftist tyrants who destroyed Honduras,” Milay said on his X account on Friday.
Bork and Sherman contributed to The Associated Press, reporting from West Palm Beach and Tegucigalpa, respectively. Associated Press writer Mike Sisak in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
