Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his involvement in a drug-trafficking scheme that transported hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States, has been released from prison after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons inmate website, Hernández was released from U.S. Penitentiary, Hazelton in West Virginia on Monday. A bureau spokesperson later verified his release.
Expressing gratitude for the pardon, Hernández’s wife, Ana García, thanked Trump via the social media platform X early Tuesday. In her post, García highlighted the relief of her husband becoming a free man once again.
Trump, when questioned by reporters on Air Force One, stated that he granted the pardon based on requests from Honduras, where many believed Hernández was unfairly targeted.
Hernández’s attorney, Renato Stabile, mentioned in a statement that he could not disclose the ex-president’s current whereabouts. Stabile conveyed Hernández’s relief that the “ordeal” had concluded and extended thanks to President Trump for rectifying what they perceived as an injustice.
Arrested in February 2022 at the behest of the United States, Hernández was convicted two years later and handed a 45-year prison term for accepting bribes from drug traffickers to facilitate the movement of around 360 tons of cocaine through Honduras to the U.S.
Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial, evidence presented in court portrayed Hernández as complicit in aiding drug trafficking activities, contrary to his self-portrayal as an anti-drug trafficking advocate working collaboratively with U.S. authorities.
The pardon of Hernández by Trump stirred controversy, with Democrats criticizing the move, and Republican reactions being mixed. The decision also introduced a new dynamic into Honduras’s ongoing presidential election, where Trump had endorsed a candidate from the National Party.
As the political landscape in Honduras evolves, the consequences of Hernández’s release and the implications of Trump’s pardon remain subjects of scrutiny and debate.
