Trump announces pardon for former president of Honduras convicted of drug trafficking

US President Donald Trump has announced that he will grant a pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernndez, who was convicted in the United States last year on charges related to drug trafficking. Trump shared the news on Truth Social on Friday, praising Hernndez and claiming he had been "treated very harshly and unfairly".

Hernndez was convicted in March 2024 for conspiracy to import cocaine into the US and for possession of machine guns, receiving a 45-year prison sentence. Trump also expressed support for conservative candidate Tito Asfura in Hondurass upcoming general election scheduled for Sunday.

Hernndez, a National Party member who led Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was extradited to the United States in April 2022 to face charges of overseeing a violent drug trafficking operation that funneled hundreds of tons of cocaine to the US. A New York jury found him guilty two years later.

Polls indicate that the Honduran election is highly competitive, with Asfura, the former mayor of Tegucigalpa and current National Party leader, competing against Rixi Moncada, former defence minister and candidate for the ruling leftist LIBRE Party, and Salvador Nasralla, a television host representing the centrist Liberal Party. Trump criticized Moncada and Nasralla, describing Nasralla as "a borderline Communist" attempting to split the vote between Moncada and Asfura.

In his post, Trump described Asfura as a candidate defending democracy and opposing Venezuelas President Nicols Maduro. The Trump administration has previously accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel. On Friday, Trump claimed that Maduro and his "narcoterrorists" were dominating Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Since 2022, Honduras has been governed by President Xiomara Castro of the LIBRE Party, who has developed close relations with Cuba and Venezuela. Despite this, Castro has maintained cooperation with the US, including honoring a long-standing extradition treaty. Honduras also hosts a US military base involved in regional operations against organized crime.

In August, the US launched a counternarcotics campaign targeting vessels allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela to America. More than 80 individuals have died during these strikes. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that "Operation Southern Spear" aims to eliminate "narcoterrorists" from the Western Hemisphere. However, legal experts have questioned the legitimacy of the strikes, noting that no evidence has been provided to confirm the vessels were carrying drugs.

Author: Sophia Brooks