In brief
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of orchestrating a massive drug trafficking operation, has been granted a presidential pardon by Donald Trump. The decision has sparked controversy given Hernández's charges involving the flow of cocaine into the U.S., raising debates about political bias in prosecutions and Trump's overarching drug policies.
Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, has walked free after President Donald Trump pardoned the man who was once characterized as the key figure in a drug trafficking scheme that flooded America with over 400 tonnes of cocaine.
Trump has said that Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison by a U.S. court, is a victim of political persecution and has been treated 'very harshly and unfairly.'
The pardon has surprised some experts, given the seriousness of the crime and the administration's promised crackdown on illegal drugs flowing into the U.S.
Here is a look at Hernández's political career and crimes, and why Trump may have pardoned him.
400 tonnes of cocaine and a $1m bribe from El Chapo
Hernández first ran for president of Honduras, a country of 10 million people, in 2013 as the candidate for the conservative National Party. He ran again in 2017, in an election marred by fraud allegations and violent protests.
Throughout his two terms, he maintained a cordial relationship with the U.S. Former President Barack Obama called him one of the 'excellent partners' on the migrant-children crisis, and Trump backed him as the winner of the disputed 2017 vote.
However, Hernández's fortunes began to unravel in 2019 when U.S. federal prosecutors accused him of accepting a $1m bribe from notorious drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán for his first presidential campaign in exchange for protecting narcotics routes through Honduras.
The allegations surfaced in a separate case involving his brother, Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernández, who was arrested in Miami in 2018 on charges of smuggling cocaine into the U.S. Tony was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.
Shortly after leaving office in 2022, Hernández was arrested and extradited to the U.S. on drug-trafficking and related weapons charges.
His federal trial lasted three weeks in 2024. U.S. prosecutors argued that he was a central figure in a more than 18-year-long drug-trafficking scheme that funneled over 400 tonnes of cocaine into the U.S.
During sentencing, Hernández insisted he was the victim of 'political persecution'.
Trump: Hernández conviction was a 'Biden setup'
Trump announced the pardon on Friday in a Truth Social post, stating that, according to 'many people that I greatly respect', Hernández had been unfairly treated by prosecutors.
During the White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argued that the charges against Hernández were tainted by corrupt 'over-prosecution' under President Biden.
The decision to pardon Hernández has raised questions about the contradictions between such a pardon and Trump's declared policy of clamping down on drug trafficking.
Trump's endorsement of Honduran presidential candidate Tito Asfura has drawn attention, indicating a strategic political move alongside his controversial decision on Hernández.
