Hernandez was serving a 45-year sentence on drug trafficking and firearms charges in a high-security federal prison in Hazleton, West Virginia.
Former Honduran first lady confirms release
Hernandez’s wife, Ana Garcia, thanked President Trump for the pardon that freed him.
“After almost four years of pain, waiting and difficult trials, my husband Juan Orlando Hernandez becomes a free man, thanks to a presidential pardon granted by President Donald Trump,” Garcia said.
The former president of Honduras was found guilty of accepting bribes from drug traffickers to enable the movement of approximately 400 tons of cocaine into the US through Honduras.
This came as Hernandez portrayed himself as an ally of US authorities in the fight against drug trafficking.
Trump’s pardon of Hernandez has come under criticism at a time when his administration has vowed to step up efforts against drug trafficking in the region, while threatening Venezuela and accusing President Nicolas Maduro of running a drug trafficking cartel.
“Trump is blowing up illegal boats in the Caribbean – supposedly to stop drugs coming into the US. Yet he pardoned the former president of Honduras who was convicted of shipping cocaine into the US,” Democratic Senator Ed Markey posted on Twitter.
Trump accuses Biden of ‘setup’
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Monday that Hernandez was the victim of prosecutorial overreach under former President Joe Biden.
“He was opposed to the values of the previous administration and he accused them because he was the president of Honduras,” Leavitt said.
Hernandez was arrested just weeks after handing over power to current President Xiomara Castro in February 2022, when Joe Biden was president. US federal authorities requested his arrest.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump echoed Leavitt’s comments on the pardon.
“The people of Honduras really thought he was set up, and that was a terrible thing,” Trump said.
“They basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country. And they said it was the arrangement of the Biden administration. And I looked at the facts and I agreed with them,” the president said, without elaborating.
Hernández has also been granted amnesty during the counting of the results of Honduras’ presidential election.
The Trump administration has thrown its full weight behind candidate Nasri Asfura against Salvador Nasralla. The two conservative candidates are still locked in a virtual tie, with Asfura leading by only hundreds of votes.
Hernández is a fellow member of Asfura’s National Party.
Edited by: Kieran Burke
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