President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he intends to issue a “full and complete pardon” to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is currently serving a 45-year sentence in the United States for drug-trafficking crimes.
The declaration marks a dramatic reversal for a onetime U.S. ally whose conviction was hailed by prosecutors as a major blow against corruption and narcotics networks in Central America.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed Hernández had been “treated very harshly and unfairly,” and tied the planned pardon to Sunday’s general elections in Honduras.
He also urged Hondurans to vote for conservative National Party candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura, suggesting U.S. support for the country would hinge on the election outcome.
Hernández, who governed Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was convicted last year and fined $8 million after U.S. prosecutors accused him of helping cartels move more than 400 tons of cocaine toward the United States.
Prosecutors argued that Hernández accepted millions in bribes, used the Honduran government to protect traffickers loyal to him, and selectively extradited rivals who threatened his political rise. The Justice Department said he “protected and enriched” drug traffickers within his inner circle.
Hernández, extradited to the U.S. in 2022, has denied all charges. His attorney, Renato Stabile, welcomed Trump’s announcement, calling the prosecution “lawfare” and saying they look forward to Hernández’s “triumphant return to Honduras.”
Trump’s comments come as his administration intensifies what it calls a counter-drug military campaign in the Caribbean, a push that has heightened tensions with Venezuela.
U.S. allegations against Hernández closely mirror long-standing Justice Department charges against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, though U.S. officials note that Maduro-linked drug routes primarily target Europe.
By directly linking the pardon to Honduras’ presidential race, Trump suggested that Washington’s future financial assistance would depend on an Asfura victory. “If he doesn’t win,” Trump wrote, the U.S. would not “throw good money after bad.”
Hondurans head to the polls on Sunday in a closely watched election that will shape the country’s political direction—and now, potentially, its relationship with Washington.
Source: CNN
Written By Rodney Mbua
