President Donald Trump said he plans to pardon ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving a lengthy U.S. sentence for drug-related crimes.
Trump announced the move on Friday and argued that Hernández received unfair treatment from prosecutors, according to the BBC.
Hernández, who led Honduras from 2014 through 2022, was found guilty in a New York courtroom last year on cocaine conspiracy and weapons counts.
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He is currently serving a 45-year term for assisting traffickers and enabling large-scale shipments into the United States, BBC reports.
Trump's Support For Conservative Candidate
Trump also backed Honduran presidential hopeful Nasry "Tito" Asfura ahead of Sunday's election.
Asfura, a former mayor of Tegucigalpa, leads the conservative National Party and faces a tight race with two other contenders.
Polls show a three-way contest involving Asfura, ruling party candidate Rixi Moncada, and television personality Salvador Nasralla.
Trump criticized both Moncada and Nasralla online, calling Nasralla "a borderline Communist" and claiming his candidacy could split opposition votes.
Regional Politics And Drug Policy
Asfura has attacked Venezuela's government during the campaign, echoing Trump's hard line against President Nicolás Maduro.
Nasralla has pledged to reverse Honduran ties with Caracas if he wins office.
U.S. authorities extradited Hernández in 2022 after accusing him of protecting violent traffickers and enabling massive cocaine movements over many years. A federal jury convicted him in 2024, concluding he used state power to aid cartel networks.
Castro Administration Maintains U.S. Cooperation
Honduras is currently led by President Xiomara Castro, a left-leaning figure aligned with Cuba and Venezuela.
Despite ideological differences, she has kept a longstanding extradition agreement with Washington and continues supporting joint efforts against organized crime.
U.S. Military Actions Raise Questions
The United States has expanded its Caribbean anti-narcotics operations under "Operation Southern Spear." U.S. forces have struck dozens of vessels suspected of smuggling since August, causing more than 80 deaths, according to defense officials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the campaign aims to disrupt "narcoterrorists."
Legal analysts, however, say Washington has not released evidence proving the targeted boats carried drugs, prompting scrutiny of the operation's legitimacy.
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