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Trump Grants Full Pardon to Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Erasing 45‑Year Conviction

06:05 PM, 12/02/2025
Trump Grants Full Pardon to Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Erasing 45‑Year Conviction

President Trump has granted a full pardon to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, erasing a 45‑year U.S. prison sentence and an $8 million fine tied to a drug‑trafficking conviction. Hernández has been released from a West Virginia federal prison, his attorney confirmed. The White House defended the move amid criticism that clemency for a convicted trafficker could weaken efforts against transnational cartels. Allies close to Trump, including Roger Stone, had lobbied for the pardon.

President Donald Trump has formally granted a full pardon to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, Hernández’s attorney Renato Stabile confirmed. The pardon wipes out a high‑profile U.S. drug‑trafficking conviction and led to Hernández’s release from federal custody.

Stabile said Hernández was released from a federal prison in West Virginia; a U.S. Bureau of Prisons record also shows the former president as having been released. In a statement, Stabile thanked Trump for what he described as correcting an injustice.

“On behalf of President Hernández and his family, I would like to thank President Trump for correcting this injustice. President Hernández is glad this ordeal is over and is looking forward to regaining his life after almost four years in prison,” Stabile said.

Hernández led Honduras from 2014 to 2022. A U.S. judge convicted him last year on drug‑trafficking charges, sentencing him to 45 years in prison and imposing an $8 million fine.

Hernández’s wife, Ana García de Hernández, posted on social media that her husband is a "free man" following the pardon.

The White House defended the decision amid criticism that clemency for a convicted trafficker undermines U.S. efforts against transnational drug networks. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the prosecution as "a clear Biden over‑prosecution," arguing Hernández was targeted for political reasons.

Prosecutors had accused Hernández of conspiring with drug cartels while in office, alleging his administration played a role in moving more than 400 tons of cocaine toward the United States and that he accepted millions in bribes that helped fuel his political rise.

Questions about the case’s political dimensions remain. Hernández’s brother was prosecuted by Emil Bove during the Trump administration; Bove later served as Trump’s personal attorney and was nominated by Trump for a federal judgeship. Several figures close to Trump, including longtime ally Roger Stone, lobbied for Hernández’s pardon.

The pardon is likely to intensify debate over presidential clemency, U.S. policy toward Central American corruption and the balance between geopolitics and law enforcement in counter‑narcotics efforts.

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