Former Honduran president released from prison after Trump's pardon
Juan Orlando Hernández was released from a West Virginia prison on Monday and is "once again a free man," his wife announced on social media.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted in United States to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking, was released from prison after receiving a pardon from President Trump, his wife announced Tuesday.
Hernández's release coincides with the president's endorsement of right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura in Honduras' closely contested elections, which were held on Sunday and whose scrutiny continues.
The 57-year-old former Honduran president was released from a prison in West Virginia on Monday and is "once again a free man," his wife, Ana García de Hernández, announced on social media.
"Yesterday, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, we lived a day we will never forget. After almost four years of pain, waiting and difficult trials, my husband Juan Orlando Hernández is once again a free man, thanks to the presidential pardon granted by President Donald Trump," the former president's wife wrote in X.
Her husband was released Monday night and "moved to a safe place," the former first lady told Honduras' Televicentro channel shortly afterward, after speaking with Hernández by video call.
"Very excited along with our children and mother-in-law to be able to see him," she said.
According to AFP, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website lists the release of a man who matches the name and age of the former Honduran president.
Unfair treatment
Juan Orlando Hernández governed the Central American country between 2014 and 2022. He was extradited to the United States shortly after leaving office, when the current president, leftist Xiomara Castro, assumed power.
In March 2024, a New York jury found him guilty of facilitating the entry of some 400 tons of cocaine—mainly from Colombia and Venezuela—into the United States via Honduras.
Trump believes Hernández was the victim of "over-prosecution" by his predecessor, Joe Biden, and said in announcing the pardon last week that he was "treated very harshly and unfairly."
Who are the two candidates running in the election?
- Salvador Nasralla is a centrist figure with high name recognition in Honduras. He branded himself as the anti-corruption and centrist candidate, aimed at voters who are disenchanted with the traditional political elite.
- Entrepreneur and former mayor of Tegucigalpa, Nasry Asfura is the candidate of the National Party, which governed Honduras for more than a decade. His platform is focused on security, investment and fiscal order, reinforcing the international link with the West and especially with the United States. Both Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei endorsed his candidacy.
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