In a controversial move, former U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for his central role in a conspiracy that flooded the United States with hundreds of tons of cocaine. This decision starkly contrasts with Trump's longstanding political rhetoric emphasizing a brutal crackdown on crime and narcotics crossing the U.S. border.
The Stunning Conviction and Pardon
Just days ago, Trump told reporters that "many of the people of Honduras" had asked him to pardon Hernández, who has maintained his innocence. Trump claimed he reviewed the facts and agreed with the assertion that the conviction was a setup by the Biden administration. "They basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country," Trump stated over the weekend.
This pardon directly contradicts the crimes Hernández was convicted of, which embody the very activity Trump has repeatedly vowed to eradicate. In 2024, a U.S. court sentenced Hernández to 45 years in prison for facilitating the importation of more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. The U.S. Justice Department described him as being at the heart of one of the world's largest and most violent drug-trafficking networks.
A Trail of Bribes, Violence, and Political Manipulation
The evidence presented during the trial painted a picture of deep corruption. Prosecutors revealed that during his first presidential campaign, Hernández accepted a $1 million bribe from the infamous Sinaloa cartel leader, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, to protect drug shipments.
Testimony from other traffickers outlined a pattern of massive bribes. Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, a former Honduran gang leader, testified he gave $250,000 to Hernández in 2012 to avoid arrest and extradition. An accountant for Hernández told the court he counted stacks of $20 bills from briefcases stuffed with bribe money.
Prosecutors said Hernández callously enabled the trade, with the accountant recalling him saying, "We are going to stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses, and they’re never even going to know it." He also allegedly assured a trafficker they were safe because "by the time the gringos find out, we will have eliminated extradition."
Elections Rigged with Drug Money and Brutal Consequences
The Justice Department's 2022 indictment accused Hernández of using drug proceeds to manipulate elections. Evidence showed that during the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, he directed traffickers to bribe local officials in areas where he lacked support to skew votes in his favor.
The conspiracy was upheld by extreme violence. Prosecutors stated that a week after Hernández's brother was convicted on related charges, a key drug trafficker with ledger entries marked "JOH" (Hernández's initials) was murdered in prison by inmates armed with machetes and a gun to prevent his potential cooperation against the former president.
Throughout his two terms, Hernández publicly promoted anti-cartel legislation, even as prosecutors say he provided increased support and protection to the traffickers, helping turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous countries globally.
The pardon of a leader convicted on such scale and brutality, by a former president who built political capital on anti-drug and tough immigration stances, creates a profound paradox and raises serious questions about consistency and the application of justice.
