President Donald Trump formally pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Dec. 1, 2025, erasing a major drug trafficking conviction that had resulted in a 45-year prison sentence. The controversial decision sparked immediate backlash from lawmakers across both parties, who questioned how the pardon aligned with the administration’s stated commitment to combating drug cartels.
Hernandez, who served as Honduras’ president from 2014 to 2022, was released from a federal prison in West Virginia following the pardon. His wife, Ana Garcia de Hernandez, celebrated the news on social media, thanking Trump for making her husband a free man after nearly four years behind bars.
The former Honduran leader had been convicted in March 2024 after a three-week jury trial on charges of conspiring with drug cartels to move more than 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras into the United States. Federal prosecutors presented evidence showing Hernandez received millions of dollars in bribes from drug trafficking organizations, including a $1 million payment from notorious Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Judge P. Kevin Castel, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, sentenced Hernandez on June 26, 2024, describing him as a two-faced politician who pretended to fight drug traffickers while secretly working with them.
The case against Hernandez stemmed from an indictment filed Jan. 27, 2022, in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. He was extradited to the United States in April 2022, just weeks after leaving office. The investigation into Honduras as a drug trafficking route dates back to 2015, predating the Biden administration that Trump now blames for what he calls a political prosecution.
In defending his decision, Trump told reporters he felt good about the pardon. He claimed the prosecution was a setup by the Biden administration, suggesting Hernandez was targeted simply for being president of a country where drug cartels operated. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this narrative, describing the case as over-prosecution and claiming Hernandez was targeted because he was opposed to the values of the previous administration.
However, the timeline of the prosecution complicates the administration’s explanation. The investigation began in 2015 during the Obama administration and continued through Trump’s first term. Emil Bove III, who helped lead that investigation as a Department of Justice prosecutor, later became one of Trump’s key defense lawyers and now serves as a federal appeals court judge after being nominated by Trump.
Trump ally Roger Stone played a role in securing the pardon, lobbying the president on Hernandez’s behalf. In late October, Hernandez sent a letter to Trump from prison claiming he suffered political persecution and drawing parallels between his situation and Trump’s own legal challenges. Stone said he delivered the letter to Trump, though a White House official indicated the president had not read it before announcing the pardon.
The pardon announcement on Trump’s Truth Social platform on Nov. 28 drew swift criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy questioned the logic of pardoning a convicted drug trafficker while simultaneously pursuing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for drug running. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine called the decision shocking, noting that Hernandez led one of the largest criminal enterprises that has ever been subject to a conviction in U.S. courts.
Republican Rep. Maria Salazar told reporters she would never have made such a decision, suggesting it sent mixed messages as the administration advances its campaign against drug trafficking in the region. Democratic Rep. Norma Torres sent a letter to Trump urging him not to grant the pardon, arguing that releasing Hernandez contradicted the president’s stated aim to fight narco-trafficking.
During his trial, prosecutors detailed how Hernandez used his presidential power to protect drug traffickers from investigation and extradition. He provided sensitive law enforcement and military information to cartels, enabled violence to be committed without consequence, and helped transform Honduras into one of the world’s largest transshipment points for cocaine bound for the United States. The drug money he received funded his political campaigns and fueled his rise in Honduran politics.
Hernandez maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings, testifying that he championed anti-crime legislation and worked with the United States to fight drug cartels. He characterized prosecution witnesses, which included former drug traffickers, as unreliable and claimed he was the victim of political persecution.
The pardon comes at a particularly sensitive time, as the Trump administration has been building up U.S. military presence in the Caribbean and conducting strikes on alleged drug-running boats. The apparent contradiction between pardoning a convicted drug trafficker while escalating military action against suspected traffickers has fueled questions about the consistency of the administration’s drug policy.
Hernandez’s attorney, Renato Stabile, expressed gratitude for what he called Trump correcting an injustice, saying his client was glad the ordeal was over after almost four years in prison. In addition to the 45-year sentence, Hernandez had been ordered to pay an $8 million fine, which the pardon also eliminates.
