Trump says he plans to pardon former Honduran President Hernández for his drug trafficking sentence in 2024
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he will pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who in 2024 was convicted of drug and weapons trafficking and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
The president explained his decision on social media, posting that “according to many people whom I respect very much,” Hernández was “treated very harshly and unfairly.”
In March of last year, Hernández was convicted in a US court of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. He had served two terms as leader of the Central American nation of approximately 10 million people.
Hernandez has been appealing his conviction and serving time at the Hazelton US Penitentiary in West Virginia.
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A lawyer for Hernandez, Renato C. Stabile, expressed gratitude for Trump’s actions.
“A great injustice has been corrected and we have high hopes for the future partnership of the United States and Honduras,” Stabile said. “Thank you, President Trump, for ensuring that justice was served. We look forward to President Hernández’s triumphant return to Honduras.”
Another lawyer for Hernandez, Sabrina Shroff, declined to comment.
The post was part of a broader message from Trump endorsing Nasry “Tito” Asfura for the presidency of Honduras, with Trump saying the United States would support the country if he wins. But if Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump posted that “the United States will not throw good money after bad, because a wrong leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter what it is.”
Asfura, 67, is running for president for the second time for the conservative National Party. He was mayor of Tegucigalpa and is committed to solving Honduras’ infrastructure needs. But he has previously been accused of misappropriating public funds, accusations he denies.
In addition to Asfura, there are two other possible contenders for the presidency of Honduras: Rixi Moncada, who served as secretary of finance and then defense before running for president for the current Free Democratic Socialist Party, and Salvador Nasralla, a former television personality who is making his fourth bid for the presidency, this time as a candidate for the Liberal Party.
Trump has framed the Honduran election as a test for democracy, suggesting in a separate Truth Social post that if Asfura loses, the country could go the way of Venezuela and fall under the influence of that country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has tried to put pressure on Maduro, ordering a series of attacks on vessels suspected of transporting drugs and strengthening the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean with warships, including the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
The US president has not ruled out taking military action or covert CIA action against Venezuela, although he has also hinted that he was open to talking to Maduro.
Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has leaned toward a leftist stance but has maintained a pragmatic and even cooperative attitude in dealing with the U.S. administration and has received visits from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Army General Laura Richardson when she was commander of the U.S. Southern Command. The president has even backtracked on his threats to end Honduras’ extradition treaty and military cooperation with the United States.
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Under Castro, Honduras also received its citizens deported from the United States and acted as a bridge for deported Venezuelans who were later picked up by Venezuela in Honduras.
The Argentine president, Javier Milei, a staunch admirer of Trump, also gave his support to Asfura in Honduras this Friday.
“I fully support Tito Asfura, who is the candidate who best represents the opposition to the left-wing tyrants who have destroyed Honduras,” said the libertarian president on his X account.
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News writer Mike Sisak in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.