Trump to Pardon Ex-President Convicted of Drug Trafficking
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, second from right, is taken in handcuffs to a waiting aircraft as he is extradited to the US, at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in April 2022. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez, File)
President Trump announced Friday that he intends to pardon former Honduran leader Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted last year on drug-trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. In a social media post, the president said many people he respects believe Hernández was “treated very harshly and unfairly,” according to the Associated Press.
Hernández was found guilty in March 2024 in a U.S. court of conspiring to move cocaine into the United States. He previously served two terms as president of Honduras, a nation of about 10 million people.
In his post, President Trump again endorsed Tito Asfura in Honduras’ upcoming presidential election, saying the United States would be supportive if Asfura wins, the Washington Post reported. He added that if Asfura loses Sunday’s vote, the U.S. “will not be throwing good money after bad,” warning that poor leadership can bring “catastrophic results” to any country.
U.S. prosecutors have said Hernández relied on millions of dollars in bribes from traffickers in Honduras and Mexico to advance his political career. They accused him of helping move at least 400 tons of cocaine to the United States and shielding traffickers from prosecution and extradition.
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