Hernández, convicted of aiding traffickers moving hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S., walked free Monday after Trump granted a presidential pardon — a decision now reverberating through Honduras’ politics and legal system.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced last year to 45 years in U.S. federal prison for aiding drug traffickers, has been released following a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, according to confirmation from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and statements from Hernández’s wife.
“A free man,” wrote Ana García, posting an image of her husband’s updated Bureau of Prisons record on X.
She thanked Trump directly:
“After almost four years of pain and difficult challenges, my husband Juan Orlando Hernández RETURNED to being a free man, thanks to the presidential pardon granted by President Donald Trump.”
Hernández was released Monday from USP Hazelton in West Virginia, where he had been serving time following his conviction for taking bribes from drug cartels who moved nearly 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras en route to the United States.
TRUMP: “THE PEOPLE OF HONDURAS ASKED ME”
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump defended the decision.
“I was asked by Honduras, many of the people of Honduras,” Trump said.
“They basically said he was set up… They said it was a Biden administration set-up. And I looked at the facts and I agreed with them.”
Trump also claimed Honduran citizens believed Hernández was targeted because he was president, not because of drug charges.
U.S. prosecutors said the opposite during trial, portraying Hernández as a politician who weaponized the Honduran security forces to protect traffickers while presenting himself publicly as a U.S.-aligned anti-cartel crusader.
BACKGROUND: A STUNNING RISE AND FALL
Hernández was arrested in Honduras at the request of the U.S. weeks after leaving office in 2022 and extradited soon after by President Xiomara Castro.
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel said during sentencing that Hernández’s punishment should be a warning to “well educated, well dressed” leaders who believe power shields them from accountability.
Hernández maintained he was innocent, claiming traffickers framed him in retaliation for extraditions carried out under his tenure.
HONDURAS RESPONDS — LEGAL BATTLE MAY CONTINUE
Honduras Attorney General Johel Zelaya responded quickly, saying his office is “obligated to seek justice and end impunity.”
He did not specify which charges Hernández may face upon his return — though multiple corruption investigations tied to his presidency remain unresolved.
President Xiomara Castro, who originally ordered Hernández’s arrest and extradition, remains in office until January.
Analysts in Tegucigalpa say Trump’s pardon has already injected turbulence into the Honduran political landscape just days before the country’s presidential election, with some candidates in Hernández’s National Party gaining momentum.
