President Donald Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Dec. 1, overturning a 45-year prison sentence for drug trafficking offenses that federal prosecutors described as one of the largest criminal conspiracies ever prosecuted in U.S. courts. Hernandez was released from a federal prison in West Virginia shortly after the pardon was granted.
The pardon has sparked intense criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who questioned how the decision aligns with the Trump administration’s aggressive stance against drug cartels operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. The controversy centers on whether a convicted drug trafficker who helped move hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States deserves clemency.
Hernandez, who served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was convicted in March 2024 after a three-week jury trial on cocaine trafficking and weapons offenses. According to the indictment filed on Jan. 27, 2022, in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, Hernandez participated in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy that facilitated the importation of more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Hernandez received millions of dollars in bribes from drug-trafficking organizations, including from Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. In exchange, Hernandez allegedly protected drug traffickers from investigation and extradition, provided sensitive law enforcement information to cartels, and allowed brutal violence to occur without consequence.
Judge P. Kevin Castel, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, sentenced Hernandez on June 26, 2024, to 45 years in prison and an $8 million fine. The prosecution marked the culmination of an investigation that began in 2015, initially led by Emil Bove III, then a Department of Justice prosecutor who later became a key defense lawyer for Trump and is now a judge.
Hernandez was extradited to the United States in April 2022. During his trial, he maintained his innocence and claimed to be the victim of political persecution. He testified that he had championed anti-crime legislation and worked with the U.S. to fight drug cartels.
Trump defended the pardon by claiming the prosecution was a setup by the Biden administration. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Hernandez had been targeted because he was “opposed to the values of the previous administration,” describing Trump’s action as reversing over-prosecution.
Trump announced his intention to grant a pardon in a Truth Social post on Nov. 28, in which he also expressed support for conservative Honduran presidential candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura. The timing injected a new element into Honduras’ political landscape.
Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally and adviser, lobbied the president for Hernandez’s pardon. In a statement, Hernandez claimed he “suffered political persecution, targeted by the Biden-Harris administration not for any wrongdoing, but for political reasons.”
The pardon drew immediate bipartisan condemnation from Congress. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy questioned the decision, asking why the administration would pardon a convicted drug trafficker while simultaneously pursuing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for alleged drug-running activities. Republican Sen. Rand Paul told reporters the pardon demonstrates concerns about policy consistency regarding the administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
Republican Rep. Maria Salazar said she felt Trump’s announcement sent a mixed message as the administration advances its campaign against drug trafficking. Democratic Rep. Norma Torres sent a letter to Trump urging him not to pardon Hernandez, writing that releasing him contradicts stated aims to fight narco-trafficking.
Hernandez’s attorney, Renato Stabile, thanked Trump for what he called correcting an injustice. His wife, Ana Garcia de Hernandez, posted on social media that her husband was now a free man thanks to Trump’s pardon, adding that the family had endured years of pain and difficult challenges.
Current Honduran President Xiomara Castro, who had Hernandez arrested and extradited to the U.S., remains in office. The political implications of the pardon continue to reverberate through both U.S. and Honduran politics, raising questions about the administration’s priorities in combating international drug trafficking while granting clemency to a convicted participant in one of the world’s largest cocaine smuggling operations.
The case against Hernandez relied on testimony from former drug traffickers and evidence presented during the three-week trial. During closing arguments, prosecutors argued that Hernandez had used his position to protect drug traffickers and facilitate massive cocaine shipments into the United States.
