Former US President Donald Trump has granted a presidential pardon to a former head of state convicted of facilitating the trafficking of hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the United States.
From Presidency to Prison and Back to Freedom
Juan Orlando Hernandez, the ex-president of Honduras, has been released from prison after receiving clemency from Trump. Hernandez was serving a 45-year sentence imposed by a New York federal court in 2022.
He was found guilty of accepting bribes from major drug cartels, enabling them to move an estimated 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras towards the US market. His arrest occurred in February 2022, just weeks after he left office.
His wife, Ana Garcia, publicly thanked Trump on social media platform X. She wrote that after nearly four years of hardship, her husband was a free man due to the presidential pardon.
Trump's Justification and a Pattern of Clemency
When questioned by reporters, Trump defended his decision. He stated that people in Honduras believed Hernandez was 'set up', and he placed blame on the Biden administration for the prosecution. 'I looked at the facts, and I agreed with them,' Trump said.
This is not the first controversial pardon issued by Trump. In January 2025, he pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the dark web drug marketplace Silk Road. Ulbricht was serving a double life sentence plus 40 years for charges including conspiracy to commit drug trafficking and money laundering.
Trump announced that pardon on Truth Social, citing a conversation with Ulbricht's mother and support from the Libertarian movement.
Pardon Amidst Military Escalation in the Caribbean
The pardon for Hernandez coincides with a significant increase in US military activity in the Caribbean, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking. Since August, warships and coast guard vessels have been deployed to the region.
In early November, the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, joined the fleet. A White House official told Reuters that President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs entering the country.
However, Operation Southern Spear has involved lethal strikes. A September strike against a suspected Venezuelan gang vessel in international waters left 11 dead. Sources indicate UK officials believe such strikes, which have killed 76 people, may violate international law. The Trump administration has blamed Venezuela for the regional drug crisis.
This juxtaposition—pardoning a convicted drug trafficker while aggressively militarising anti-drug operations—creates a complex and contentious picture of the current administration's approach to the war on drugs.
