Trump plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez : NPR

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, second from right, is taken handcuffed to a waiting plane as he is extradited to the United States, at an air force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, April 21, 2022.

Elmer Martinez/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Elmer Martinez/AP

WEST PALM BEACH, FL. — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who in 2024 was convicted of drug and arms trafficking and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

The president explained his decision on social media, saying that “according to many people I respect greatly,” Hernández was “treated very harshly and unfairly.”

In March last year, Hernandez was convicted in a US court of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. He had served two terms as leader of this Central American nation of about 10 million people.

Hernandez appealed his conviction and is serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia.

Hernandez’s attorney, Renato C. Stabile, expressed gratitude for Trump’s actions.

“A great injustice has been righted, and we are hopeful for the future partnership between the United States and Honduras,” Stabile said. “Thank you to President Trump for ensuring justice was served. We look forward to President Hernández’s triumphant return to Honduras.”

Another attorney for Hernandez, Sabrina Shroff, declined to comment.

This message was part of a broader message from Trump supporting Nasry “Tito” Asfura for Honduras’ presidency, with Trump saying the United States would support the country if he won. But if Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump said “the United States will not spend a lot of money, because a bad leader can only bring catastrophic results to any country.”

Asfura, 67, is running for the presidency of the National Conservative Party for the second time. He served as mayor of Tegucigalpa and was committed to addressing Honduras’ infrastructure needs. But he has previously been accused of embezzlement of public funds, allegations he denies.

In addition to Asfura, there are two other likely contenders for the Honduran presidency: Rixi Moncada, who served as finance and then defense secretary before running for president of the incumbent Free Democratic Socialist Party, and Salvador Nasralla, a former television personality who is making his fourth bid for president, this time as a Liberal Party candidate.

Trump framed Honduras’ election as a trial for democracy, suggesting in another Truth Social article that if Asfura lost, the country could go the way of Venezuela and fall under the influence of its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has sought to pressure Maduro, ordering a series of strikes against boats suspected of carrying drugs, boosting 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 did not rule out military action or covert CIA action against Venezuela, although he also hinted that he was ready to speak with Maduro.

Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has adopted a left-wing stance, but she has maintained a pragmatic, even cooperative, stance in her dealings with the US administration and was visited by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and US Army General Laura Richardson when she was commander of the US Southern Command. The president even backed down from his threats to end the Honduras extradition treaty and military cooperation with the United States.

Under Castro, Honduras also welcomed its citizens expelled from the United States and served as a bridge for expelled Venezuelans who were later picked up by Venezuela in Honduras.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a fervent admirer of Trump, also gave his support to Asfura in Honduras on Friday.

“I fully support Tito Asfura, who is the candidate who best represents the opposition to the left-wing tyrants who destroyed Honduras,” the libertarian president said on his X account.