Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was serving a 45-year sentence in the United States on drug trafficking and weapons charges, was released from a federal prison in West Virginia after receiving a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump, his wife announced Tuesday. Hernández, convicted last year in a Manhattan courtroom of taking millions of dollars in bribes to safeguard massive cocaine shipments heading to the United States, walked free Monday evening following Trump’s signature on the pardon order.
According to Reuters, Trump signed the pardon late Monday, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons registry confirmed Hernández’s release from U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia. Hernández’s wife, Ana García, posted a photograph of the prison bureau listing on X and thanked Trump, writing that after nearly four years of “pain, waiting and difficult challenges,” her husband had returned to freedom because of Trump’s intervention. NBC News also reported that García publicly praised Trump’s action and framed the release as the end of what she described as an unjust ordeal.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he pardoned Hernández after appeals from Hondurans who believed the former president had been “set up.” Trump said those urging the pardon blamed what they called a politically motivated effort by the Biden administration and argued that Hernández was branded a drug dealer because he had been president. Trump said he reviewed the facts and agreed with those claims.
Hernández was arrested in February 2022 at the request of U.S. authorities, just weeks after he handed power to President Xiomara Castro. In March 2024, a Manhattan jury found him guilty of conspiring with traffickers who moved roughly 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras. Prosecutors argued that Hernández used his presidency to shield drug operations, even while presenting himself as an ally of U.S. anti-narcotics efforts. He was sentenced in June to 45 years in prison.
During sentencing, federal Judge P. Kevin Castel said the punishment served as a warning to “well educated, well dressed” officials who believe their power places them above the law. He accused Hernández of using “considerable acting skills” to portray himself as a crusader against drug traffickers while relying on Honduran police and military forces to protect cocaine routes. Hernández insisted he was the victim of traffickers he extradited and claimed he was targeted for political reasons.
Reuters also reported that Hernández wrote a lengthy letter to Trump in which he described himself as a political target of the Biden-Harris administration, comparing his legal troubles to those faced by Trump after his first presidential term. A White House official said Trump had not seen the letter before announcing the pardon. NBC News reported that conservative commentator Roger Stone had advocated for Hernández’s release and communicated with Trump about the case. Hernández’s wife publicly said Stone’s involvement made a “huge difference.”
Honduras’ attorney general, Johel Zelaya, said after Trump announced the intended pardon that prosecutors remain obligated to pursue justice and end impunity. Zelaya did not specify what Honduran charges Hernández could face upon returning to the country, though multiple corruption investigations related to his administration remain unresolved. President Castro, who first ordered Hernández’s arrest and extradition, remains in office until January.
The timing of the pardon came days before Honduras’ closely contested presidential election, where Trump endorsed Nasry Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate. Vote tallies Tuesday showed Asfura and liberal candidate Salvador Nasralla nearly tied with just under 40 percent each. Asfura’s party maintained close ties with Washington during Hernández’s presidency, which spanned from 2014 to 2022. After a 2009 coup, Honduras became a major corridor for cocaine shipments and one of the most violent countries in the world, prompting mass migration to the U.S.
Hernández is not yet guaranteed a quick return home, as Honduran authorities signaled potential legal action. For now, he remains free on U.S. soil as a result of the unprecedented pardon from President Donald Trump, which overturned one of the highest-profile drug trafficking convictions of a former head of state in U.S. federal court.
Reuters/NBC
