Trump's commitment to pardon gives another chance to imprisoned former president of Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras Juan Orlando Hernndez, the former president of Honduras who once stood as a key U.S. ally in the fight against drugs but later became emblematic of presidential corruption in Central America, is poised to regain U.S. favor after President Donald Trump signaled plans to pardon him. The 57-year-old, who served two presidential terms, was sentenced last year to 45 years in a U.S. prison for facilitating the safe transport of hundreds of tons of cocaine from Honduras to the United States.

During the opening of his trial in February 2024, U.S. prosecutors noted that Hernndez allegedly boasted to drug traffickers about smuggling cocaine into the U.S. Trump has criticized the prosecution, which also involved Hernndezs brother, stating that advisors told him the former president was "treated very harshly and unfairly." On Sunday, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a vocal critic of Hernndez, condemned the pardon as "shocking," emphasizing Hernndezs leadership of a major criminal organization convicted in U.S. courts.

Hernndezs reversal in fortune follows his dramatic fall in early 2022, when he went from recently leaving office to facing extradition and imprisonment in the U.S. The change occurred amid Honduras national elections, which saw voters choosing a new president, Congress, and local officials. While in office from 2014 to January 2022, Hernndez enjoyed U.S. support for his cooperation in anti-drug initiatives. However, shortly after leaving office, U.S. prosecutors sought his extradition to make an example of him amid widespread corruption in the region.

Hernndez had received backing from the Trump administration, including support for relocating Honduras embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. When President Biden took office in January 2021, focus shifted toward corruption in Central America as a driver of migration to the U.S. Shortly before his arrest in February 2022, Hernndez was added to a U.S. State Department list of corrupt and undemocratic actors.

Two years after his arrest, Hernndez was sentenced in a New York federal court for accepting bribes from drug traffickers, enabling the transport of roughly 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras. He consistently claimed innocence, alleging retaliation by traffickers he had helped extradite. Prosecutors maintained that Hernndez used Honduran military and police forces to facilitate drug shipments, amassing millions that propelled him from congressman to president. Judge P. Kevin Castel described him as a two-faced politician hungry for power.

Testimonies during the trial implicated Hernndez in protecting some of the worlds most powerful drug traffickers, including Mexican drug lord Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn. Prosecutors revealed that Guzmn bribed Hernndezs brother, Juan Antonio Tony Hernndez, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S. Hernndezs political ascent was repeatedly linked to drug profits, according to testimonies from traffickers.

Hernndez initially gained support through reductions in violence during his tenure. His re-election was enabled by a favorable Supreme Court decision, though the process was marred by allegations of irregularities. Honduras was described by officials as a narco-state, with drug-related killings during Hernndezs career described as staggering. Witnesses admitted involvement in dozens of murders connected to the drug trade before cooperating with U.S. authorities.

After Trump announced his pardon intention, Hernndezs wife Ana Garca and their adult children gathered outside their home in Tegucigalpa. Garca thanked Trump, claiming he had corrected an injustice and describing Hernndezs prosecution as a plot orchestrated by drug traffickers and the radical left to exact revenge on the former president.

Author: Sophia Brooks