Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. federal prison, was released Monday after receiving a presidential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. Hernández was sentenced for participating in a large-scale drug trafficking operation. This move was called by the administration as a reaffirmation of justice and strategic diplomacy.
Hernández walked out of the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia following the official pardon, confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and reflected in updated inmate records. His release comes at a pivotal moment for Honduras, just days after its presidential election, escalating political tensions while signaling a renewed U.S. commitment to regional stability.
Why did Donald Trump pardon Juan Orlando Hernández?
President Trump defended his decision aboard Air Force One, emphasizing that many Hondurans believed Hernández had been wrongfully targeted. He asserted that the former president had long been a key ally in counter-narcotics cooperation and that the conviction raised serious questions about prosecutorial overreach.
Trump argued that restoring justice in Hernández’s case was both a humanitarian act and a demonstration of the administration’s resolve to correct systemic failures. He accused the Joe Biden administration of setting him up.
The pardon arrives amid Trump’s sweeping and highly assertive anti-narcotics strategy, which has included a series of maritime operations aimed at dismantling drug networks before they reach U.S. shores. Although the actions have generated debate across Latin America, the administration maintains they are lawful, strategically necessary, and part of a broader campaign to ensure regional security.
From Honduras, Orlando Hernández’s wife, Ana García, publicly thanked Donald Trump in a message on X and reiterated her belief that the charges against her husband were politically motivated. Speaking outside her home in Tegucigalpa, she compared Trump’s situation to Hernández’s, arguing that both men had been subjected to politically driven investigations.
She said Hernández is currently in a secure, undisclosed location and intends to address the Honduran public on Wednesday.
