Published: 6:26am, 29 Nov 2025Updated: 6:59am, 29 Nov 2025
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will be pardoning former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who in 2024 was convicted for drug trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
The president explained his decision on social media by posting that “according to many people that I greatly respect”, Hernandez was “treated very harshly and unfairly”.
In March of last year, Hernandez was convicted in an American court of conspiring to import cocaine into the US.
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He had served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people.
The post was part of a broader message by Trump backing Tito Asfura for Honduras’ presidency, with Trump saying the US would be supportive of the country if he wins.
But if Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump posted, “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”.