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Post by : Rameen Ariff
US President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who was convicted in a US court last year on serious drug trafficking charges. Hernández, who served as Honduras’s president from 2014 to 2022, was extradited to the United States in April 2022 to face trial over running a violent drug trafficking operation that allegedly smuggled hundreds of tons of cocaine into the US.
Hernández was convicted by a New York jury in March 2024 on charges of conspiring to import cocaine and for possession of machine guns. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump stated on social media that Hernández had been "treated very harshly and unfairly," signalling his intent to grant a pardon.
The announcement comes just days before Honduras’s general election, scheduled for Sunday. Trump also expressed his support for conservative presidential candidate Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the former mayor of Tegucigalpa and member of the National Party. According to Trump, Asfura "stands up for democracy" and has campaigned against Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, whom Trump and his administration have criticised for alleged links to drug trafficking.
The Honduran election is considered highly competitive, with polls showing a tight race between Asfura, Rixi Moncada of the ruling left-wing Libre Party and former television host Salvador Nasralla, representing the centrist Liberal Party. Trump openly criticised Moncada and Nasralla, describing Nasralla as "a borderline Communist" whose candidacy could split votes between Asfura and Moncada. Nasralla has vowed to cut ties with Venezuela if elected.
Honduras has been led since 2022 by President Xiomara Castro, who has maintained close relations with Cuba and Venezuela but also continues cooperation with the United States, including honoring the long-standing extradition treaty. Her government hosts a US military base that has been active in targeting organized crime and narcotics trafficking in the region.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has defended its actions against Venezuela, including a series of US strikes on vessels suspected of drug smuggling since August, claiming these operations, under "Operation Southern Spear," aim to eliminate narcoterrorists. The strikes have reportedly resulted in over 80 casualties, but legal experts have questioned their legality, citing a lack of evidence that the vessels were transporting narcotics.
Trump’s move to pardon Hernández and endorse Asfura highlights the ongoing US interest in Central American politics, particularly in curbing drug trafficking and influencing the region’s electoral outcomes
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