On November 28, Trump announced his intention to pardon criminal drug-smuggler and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.
Hernández was to serve a 45-year federal prison sentence. He was sentenced in 2024 on drug trafficking offenses, and was charged with an $8 million fine, which he no longer has to pay as a result of the pardon.
Hernández was a prolific drug smuggler according to prosecutors, trafficking 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras into the United States, in return for millions of dollars in bribes that contributed to his rise in Honduran politics. He offered succor to drug traffickers in his inner circle, while punishing allegedly disloyal smugglers by extraditing them to the United States.
On this same day, Trump interfered in the electoral process of Honduras by endorsing the National Party’s Nasry “Tito” Asfura, and threatening to cut off aid to the country if Asfura did not win. An electoral crisis in Honduras led to a recount, in which Asfura is the leading candidate.
Trump’s pardon of Hernández comes despite his claim to be tough on drug traffickers operating in the United States and Latin America. He has applied immense pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, whom he has falsely accused of collaborating with cartels. Meanwhile, Hernández has, as a matter of fact, collaborated with and rewarded cartels who functioned in Honduras and the United States. Hernández trafficked 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, while cartel groups in Venezuela direct their illicit drugs to Europe without state support. This pardon has baffled Trump’s supporters and opponents alike, exposing blatant hypocrisy.
