Juan Orlando Hernández, the former President of Honduras who was sentenced to 45 years for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking operation that transported hundreds of tonnes of the drug to the U.S., has been released from prison following a pardon from President Donald Trump, as confirmed by officials on Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons inmate website, Hernández was released from the U.S. Penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia, on Monday, and a spokesperson for the bureau confirmed his release on Tuesday.
Ana García, Hernández’s wife, expressed her gratitude to Trump for the pardon on the social media platform X early Tuesday morning.
“After nearly four years filled with pain, waiting, and challenging times, my husband Juan Orlando Hernández is once again a free man, thanks to the presidential pardon granted by President Donald Trump,” García wrote in her post.
She shared a screenshot of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons listing confirming Hernández’s release.
Ana García, center, wife of the former Honduran president, is seen in Tegucigalpa on Friday. (Moises Castillo/The Associated Press)
When asked by reporters traveling with him on Air Force One about why he decided to pardon Hernández, Trump responded on Sunday.
“I was requested to do so by the people of Honduras — many of them,” Trump stated. “The people of Honduras truly believed he was framed, and it was a terrible situation.”
Jury conviction reached on second day of deliberations
Renato Stabile, Hernández’s attorney, mentioned in an email that he could not disclose the current whereabouts of the former president. He noted that Hernández is relieved that the “ordeal” has concluded.
“On behalf of President Hernández and his family, I would like to express our gratitude to President Trump for rectifying this injustice,” Stabile said.
-
Honduran president’s brother convicted of drug trafficking in U.S. trial
-
U.S. prosecutors lay out allegations as Hernandez is extradited (2022)
Hernández was apprehended in February 2022 at the request of the United States, just weeks after Xiomara Castro took office as the current president of Honduras.
Two years later, he received a 45-year prison sentence in a federal court in New York for accepting bribes from drug traffickers, enabling them to transport approximately 360 tonnes of cocaine through Honduras to the U.S.
During his trial in February 2024, a U.S. prosecutor claimed Hernández had even bragged during a meeting with drug dealers that “together they would shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.”
Hernández consistently asserted his innocence, claiming he was targeted by drug traffickers he had assisted in extraditing to the U.S.
Protesters are seen outside a federal court in Manhattan, New York City, on May 10, 2022, demonstrating against former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández. (David R. Martin/The Associated Press)
Trump has hinted recently that Hernández was a victim of a “setup” orchestrated by U.S. Justice Department prosecutors during the Biden administration, although the jury took less than two days to unanimously convict him.
During sentencing, federal Judge P. Kevin Castel remarked that the punishment should serve as a warning to “well-educated, well-dressed” individuals who gain power and mistakenly believe their status protects them from accountability for their wrongdoings.
Hernández portrayed himself as a champion of the anti-drug trafficking effort, collaborating with American officials across three U.S. presidential administrations to combat drug imports.
However, the judge stated that the evidence presented at trial contradicted this narrative, revealing that Hernández employed “significant acting skills” to feign opposition to drug trafficking while utilizing the police and military of his country to safeguard the drug trade.
Hernández’s brother had previously been convicted in a separate trial for distributing 165 tonnes of cocaine and was ordered to forfeit $138.5 million in illicit drug trafficking profits.
Honduran official criticizes the pardon
The decision sparked outrage among Democrats in Washington, especially since Trump has cited the alleged influx of drugs into the U.S. as a justification for a series of military actions against vessels near Venezuela and in the eastern Pacific, resulting in over 80 fatalities since September 2.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia described Trump’s pardon of Hernández as “shocking.”
“He was the leader of one of the largest criminal organizations ever convicted in U.S. courts, and less than a year into his sentence, President Trump pardons him, implying that he cares little about drug trafficking,” Kaine stated on CBS’s Face the Nation.
Responses from Republicans have varied, with Senator Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma expressing his trust in Trump’s judgment on the matter, while Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, typically a strong supporter of Trump, stated she “would not have made that decision.”
Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana was more vocal in his criticism on X.
“Why would we pardon this individual and then pursue [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro for trafficking drugs into the United States? We should imprison every drug trafficker! I don’t comprehend why he is receiving a pardon,” Cassidy tweeted over the weekend.
-
5 times Trump has meddled in foreign election campaigns
-
Trump promise to pardon ex-Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking looms as country votes
Hernández’s return to Honduras is not guaranteed to be immediate.
Following Trump’s announcement of his intent to pardon Hernández, Honduras Attorney General Johel Zelaya stated on X that his office was committed to pursuing justice and ending impunity.
He did not clarify what charges Hernández might face in Honduras. There have been multiple corruption investigations related to his administration during his two terms, but none led to charges. President Castro, who oversaw Hernández’s arrest and extradition, will remain in power until January.
Trump’s pardon, announced just days before Honduras’s presidential election, added a new dynamic to the electoral race. Trump endorsed the National Party’s Nasry Asfura last week.
Voting proceeded on Tuesday.
