Donald Trump has said that he will pardon the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking charges in a US court last year.
The US president stated in a social media post announcing the move that Hernández had been treated very harshly and unfairly. Hernández was found guilty in March 2024 of conspiring to import cocaine into the US and possessing machine guns, leading to his sentence of 45 years in prison.
Trump also expressed support for conservative candidate Nasry Tito Asfura in Honduras' general election, set for Sunday. Hernández, serving from 2014 to 2022, was extradited to face trial in the US after allegations of running a violent drug trafficking conspiracy.
Asfura, the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, is running against Rixi Moncada from the ruling left-wing Libre Party and Salvador Nasralla from the centrist Liberal Party. Trump described Moncada and Nasralla unfavorably, arguing that Nasralla was a borderline Communist aiming to split the vote.<\/p>
Despite political turbulence, President Xiomara Castro, who succeeded Hernández, has maintained a cooperative relationship with the US, including upholding an extradition treaty.
Legal experts have expressed concerns regarding the US strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, noting a lack of evidence presented to justify these actions.
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