Trump plans to pardon former Honduran president convicted in US: 'Treated harshly and unfairly'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has said he intends to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted in a US court last year on dr*g-trafficking and weapons charges.

A jury found Hernandez guilty in March 2024 of conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the United States and possessing machine guns, leading to a 45-year prison sentence.

Trump reveals plans to pardon ex-Honduran president

On Friday, November 28 President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he plans to pardon Hernandez.

“I will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly,” Trump wrote.

He added, "This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success."

This is Trump’s second expression of support this week for Nasry 'Tito' Asfura, the conservative National Party’s presidential candidate.

In a Wednesday post, Trump said Asfura could “work together to fight the Narcocommunists and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras.”

His Friday message continued: “Vote for Tito Asfura for President, and Congratulations to Juan Orlando Hernandez on your upcoming Pardon. Thank you for your attention for this matter Make Honduras Great Again."

Trump also warned that if Asfura loses this weekend’s election, "The United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is."

Honduras ex president’s wife expresses gratitude for Trump’s decision

Juan Orlando Hernandez, a member of Honduras’s National Party who served as president from 2014 to 2022, was arrested in Tegucigalpa in February 2022 and extradited to the US in April 2022 to face charges in a federal court in New York.

US prosecutors accused Hernandez of running Honduras as a “narco-state,” using his presidency to help traffickers move more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for millions in bribes, including payments from Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. Hernandez has been appealing his conviction while serving his sentence at the US Penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia.

After Trump announced the pardon, Hernandez’s wife and children gathered on the steps of their home in Tegucigalpa and knelt in prayer, thanking God that he would finally return after almost four years apart. García said they spoke with Hernandez and shared the news with him.

“He still didn’t know of this news and believe me, when we shared it his voice broke with emotion,” she said.

Garcia thanked Trump, saying he had corrected an injustice and claiming that Hernandez’s prosecution was part of a coordinated effort by dr*g traffickers and the “radical left” to retaliate against the former president. She added that they did not yet know the exact date of his return but hoped it would happen “in the coming days.”

Hernandez’s lawyer, Renato C Stabile, expressed gratitude for Trump’s decision.

“A great injustice has been righted and we are so hopeful for the future partnership of the United States and Honduras,” Stabile said. “Thank you President Trump for making sure that justice was served. We look forward to President Hernandez’s triumphant return to Honduras."