President Donald Trump declared on Friday that he will grant a full pardon to Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who was convicted in a U.S. federal court last year on drug-trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Hernández had been “treated very harshly and unfairly,” citing opinions from “many people that I greatly respect.” The announcement came just two days before Honduras heads to the polls in a tightly contested presidential election.
Hernández, who governed Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was once a close U.S. ally in Central America, especially during Trump’s first term. Prosecutors in New York successfully argued that he accepted millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for protecting cocaine shipments headed to the United States. During the trial, an assistant U.S. attorney described Hernández as having “paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States.” Hernández has always maintained his innocence and is appealing the conviction.
The pardon drew immediate celebration from Hernández’s family and legal team. His wife, Ana García, gathered with their children outside their home in Tegucigalpa, where they knelt in prayer to give thanks. García later told reporters that Hernández broke down in tears when he learned the news over the phone, calling the conviction a politically motivated attack orchestrated by drug traffickers and the “radical left.”
One of Hernández’s attorneys, Renato Stabile, hailed the decision: “A great injustice has been righted… Thank you President Trump for making sure that justice was served. We look forward to President Hernández’s triumphant return to Honduras.”
Tied to Honduras’ Upcoming Election
Trump’s pardon was not made in isolation. It appeared as part of a longer Truth Social post in which the president strongly endorsed Nasry “Tito” Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate running to succeed current President Xiomara Castro.
Trump promised continued U.S. support if Asfura wins but warned that aid could dry up if the “wrong leader” is elected, stating, “the United States will not be throwing good money after bad.” In separate posts, he suggested that a victory by the left-leaning Libre party could push Honduras toward the same fate as Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro.
Polls show a three-way race that is too close to call:
- Nasry “Tito” Asfura (National Party) – former mayor of Tegucigalpa;
- Rixi Moncada (Libre) – Castro’s former finance and defense minister;
- Salvador Nasralla (Liberal Party) – popular television personality running for the fourth time.
Argentine President Javier Milei, a vocal Trump admirer, also endorsed Asfura on Friday, calling him the candidate best suited to oppose “leftist tyrants.”
A Complicated Regional Picture
The pardon and election endorsement come as Trump pursues an aggressive anti-drug and anti-leftist policy in Latin America. His administration has designated several drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, conducted lethal strikes on suspected trafficking vessels, and increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean—including deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.
At the same time, relations with the current Honduran government under President Xiomara Castro (who took office in 2022) have been pragmatic despite ideological differences. Castro initially threatened to end the U.S.–Honduras extradition treaty but later backed down. Honduras has continued to accept U.S. deportees, including Venezuelans who are then repatriated from Honduran soil.
Critics of the pardon argue that freeing a convicted narco-trafficker undermines Trump’s own “war on drugs.” Supporters, including Hernández’s team and some conservative leaders in the region, insist the trial was politically tainted and that the former president was a valuable partner in fighting migration and crime when he was in power.
Hernández is currently being held at the high-security U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia. His family says they expect him to return to Honduras “in the coming days,” though no exact timeline has been confirmed.
As Hondurans prepare to vote on Sunday, the U.S. president’s dramatic intervention has thrust the small Central American nation—and its tangled relationship with Washington—back into the international spotlight.
