Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez secured a planned pardon from President Trump, stemming from a letter Hernandez sent to Trump praising him and alleging political persecution by the Biden administration, coupled with lobbying efforts by Roger Stone. Trump announced the impending pardon just before Honduran elections, where the White House backed the National Party, which Hernandez led. Hernandez, indicted for drug trafficking upon leaving office in 2022, was extradited to the U.S. and convicted in 2024, receiving a 45-year sentence.
Roger Stone, a longtime Trump associate, initiated a campaign for Hernandez's pardon shortly after Trump took office, casting Hernandez as a victim of "lawfare." Stone claims he reiterated these points to Trump on the day of the pardon announcement and brought Trump's attention to Hernandez's clemency letter. Hernandez's letter to Trump lauded his resilience and close working relationship, asserting that his case was pursued by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice for political reasons to aid their ideological allies in Honduras, and that he received ineffective legal representation.
Despite Hernandez's claims of political persecution, his conviction was based on a jury trial in Manhattan federal court, where his testimony did not heavily focus on this narrative. The prosecutor involved in Hernandez's case, Emile Bove, had prior connections to Trump, having worked in Trump's Justice Department and later being appointed as a federal judge by Trump. Bove also prosecuted Hernandez's brother during Trump's first term. The timing of the pardon announcement also coincided with Trump's endorsement of a National Party candidate in the Honduran elections, reflecting Trump's broader geopolitical stance of supporting right-wing governments in Latin America. The potential pardon has raised concerns about hypocrisy, given Trump's rhetoric against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who was also indicted on drug trafficking charges. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the planned pardon, calling Hernandez's case a "clear Biden over-prosecution" and "lawfare" by a leftist party.