Ex-Honduran President Thanks God — and Trump — After US Drug-Trafficking Pardon

Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández publicly thanked God and former US president Donald Trump after receiving a presidential pardon for a US drug-trafficking conviction that federal prosecutors had won less than two years earlier.

Video Remarks: Faith, Gratitude and a Political Defense

In a video posted to social media, Hernández opened by praising God in Spanish: "You saw the injustice and suffering, and in your infinite mercy you helped us. Thanks to you, Lord, today I’m a free man." He called the remarks his first public comments since receiving the pardon on 1 December.

Hernández then thanked Trump directly, saying the former president "changed my life, and I’ll never forget that," and expressing "profound gratitude" for what Hernández described as Trump's willingness to "defend justice" and to prevent state power from being used against political opponents.

Allegations, Conviction and Pardon

Hernández was extradited to the United States in April 2022 to face drug and related weapons charges about three months after leaving office. A jury convicted him on 8 March 2024 following a three-week trial, and he was sentenced in June 2024 to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors alleged Hernández accepted $1 million from Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in 2013 while running for his first presidential term and said his administration helped turn Honduras into a major transit "superhighway" for cocaine from South America.

Hernández was being held at a federal prison in West Virginia when Trump granted clemency, leading to his release.

Political Fallout And Claims Of Conspiracy

Echoing rhetoric often used by Trump, Hernández said his prosecution was corrupt and the product of a conspiracy involving President Joe Biden’s administration and elements of a so-called "deep state," alleging those forces were hostile because he cracked down on organized crime while in office.

"They wanted to assassinate my morale, erase my name, and sully my legacy," Hernández said. "Their objective was clear: get me out of the way [and] eliminate the leader who defended law and order."

Hernández also said the truth can be silenced temporarily but not erased, and vowed to work to ensure his account is heard.

Social Media, Community Note And Legal Developments

On X (formerly Twitter), Hernández limited who could reply to the video, tagging only a handful of accounts that included several Trump allies: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, presidential pardon attorney Ed Martin, conservative strategist Roger Stone and former congressman Matt Gaetz. No replies were visible beneath the post.

A community note appended to the post, written in Spanish, stated: "Hernández is not innocent. He was found guilty and sentenced [in connection with] … drug trafficking charges, according to the US Justice Department." The note linked to a Justice Department news release announcing the 45-year sentence handed down in June 2024.

Within a day of Hernández posting his video, a judge blocked Department of Justice prosecutors aligned with the Trump administration from accessing materials belonging to a key ally of former FBI director James Comey — part of a broader set of legal and political disputes tied to high-profile figures in Washington.

Response And Context

The pardon provoked immediate political backlash. Critics noted it came as the Trump administration was promoting a high-profile "war on drugs," including military actions and naval deployments in the region. "If President Trump actually wants to send a strong signal to … heads of states involved in narco-trafficking, pardoning one of the most recent grotesque offenders … is exactly the wrong message," Senator Chris Coons of Delaware told CNN.

Analysts also pointed out that Hernández is among more than 100 people accused of drug-related crimes whom Trump has pardoned, despite the president’s public positioning as an anti-narcotics crusader. The pardon occurred amid unusually intense US involvement in Honduras's presidential election, where Trump publicly endorsed Hernández’s ally, Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Asfura’s main rival, Salvador Nasralla, told Reuters that Trump’s intervention had "hurt" his chances.

This pardon and its surrounding controversies underscore tensions between political loyalties, legal accountability and international drug enforcement priorities.