(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump said on Friday (local time) that he will pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former Honduran president who was convicted in 2024 of drug-trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Trump said his decision on social media by posting that“according to many people that I greatly respect,” Hernandez was“treated very harshly and unfairly.”

Who is Juan Orlando Hernández? What are the charges against him?

In March 2024, Hernández was convicted in a U.S. court for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, after serving two terms as president of Honduras, a Central American nation of around 10 million people.

He has been appealing the conviction while serving his sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary, Hazelton, in West Virginia.

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Following Trump's pardon statement, Hernández's wife and children gathered on the steps of their Tegucigalpa home, kneeling in prayer and giving thanks for his return after nearly four years apart. This was the same residence from which Honduran authorities removed him in 2022, shortly after he left office, before extraditing him to the U.S. for trial.

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Ana García, center, wife of former Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernández and his daughters Daniela, left, and Isabela raise their fists in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025 after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would pardon Hernández, who is serving a 45-year prison sentence for helping import cocaine to the United States. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
(AP)

García said they had just been able to speak with Hernández and tell him the news. García thanked Trump, saying that Trump had corrected an injustice, maintaining that Hernández's prosecution was a coordinated plot by drug traffickers and the“radical left” to seek revenge against the former president.

She said they had not been told exactly when Hernández would return, but said“we hope that in the coming days.”

A lawyer for Hernandez, Renato C. Stabile, expressed gratitude for Trump's actions.

“A great injustice has been righted and we are so hopeful for the future partnership of the United States and Honduras," Stabile said. "Thank you President Trump for making sure that justice was served. We look forward to President Hernandez's triumphant return to Honduras.”

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The post was part of a broader message by Trump backing Nasry“Tito” Asfura for Honduras' presidency, with Trump saying the U.S. would be supportive of the country if he wins. But if Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump posted that“the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is.”

Asfura, 67, is making his second run for president for the conservative National Party. He was the mayor of Tegucigalpa and has pledged to solve Honduras' infrastructure needs. But he has previously been accused of embezzling public funds, allegations that he denies.

In addition to Asfura, there are two other likely contenders for Honduras' presidency: Rixi Moncada, who served as the finance and later defense secretary before leaving to run for president for the incumbent democratic socialist Libre party, and Salvador Nasralla, a former television personality who is making his fourth bid for the presidency, this time as the candidate for the Liberal Party.

What did Trump say?

Trump has framed Honduras' election as a trial for democracy, suggesting in a separate Truth Social post that if Asfura loses, the country could go the way of Venezuela and fall under the influence of that country's leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has maintained a left-leaning political stance while taking a pragmatic and cooperative approach toward the U.S. administration. She has hosted visits from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Army Gen, AP reported.

Laura Richardson, formerly commander of U.S. Southern Command, and has stepped back from earlier threats to end Honduras' extradition treaty and military cooperation with the United States. Under her leadership, Honduras has also managed the return of its citizens deported from the U.S. and served as a transit point for deported Venezuelans, who were subsequently taken to Venezuela.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch admirer of Trump, also gave his support to Asfura in Honduras on Friday.

“I fully support Tito Asfura, who is the candidate who best represents the opposition to the leftist tyrants who have destroyed Honduras,” the libertarian president said on his X account.

(With inputs from AP)

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