US President Donald Trump has revealed plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted last year in the United States on drug trafficking charges.
Trump announced the decision on his Truth Social platform on Friday, November 28, 2025, describing Hernández as having been “treated very harshly and unfairly.”
Hernández, affiliated with Honduras’s National Party, governed the country from 2014 to 2022. In April 2022, he was extradited to the United States to face trial for allegedly managing a violent drug trafficking network and assisting in shipping hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the US. A New York jury found him guilty two years later.
The announcement comes amid a heated Honduran presidential election. Key contenders include National Party candidate and former Tegucigalpa mayor Asfura, former defence minister Rixi Moncada representing the left-leaning LIBRE Party, and television host Salvador Nasralla running for the centrist Liberal Party.
Trump took the opportunity in his post to criticise Moncada and Nasralla. He labelled Nasralla “a borderline Communist” and suggested that his campaign could divide votes between Moncada and Asfura.
In contrast, Trump praised Asfura as a candidate who is “standing up for democracy” and actively opposing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump administration has consistently accused Maduro, whose recent re-election was widely criticised internationally, of leading a drug cartel. On Friday, Trump claimed that Maduro and his “narcoterrorists” have seized control of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Since 2022, Honduras has been under the leadership of President Xiomara Castro of the LIBRE Party, who has nurtured close ties with Cuba and Venezuela.
Despite these regional alignments, Castro has maintained cooperation with the United States, preserving a long-standing extradition agreement and hosting a US military facility engaged in regional anti-crime operations.
Earlier this year, the United States launched a series of strikes targeting vessels alleged to be transporting drugs from Venezuela to US shores.
The operations, which have resulted in over 80 fatalities, were defended by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as part of “Operation Southern Spear,” aimed at eliminating “narcoterrorists” in the Western Hemisphere.
However, legal experts have questioned the legitimacy of these actions, noting that no evidence has been publicly shared to confirm the vessels were carrying illegal drugs.
