President Donald Trump has declared that he intends to issue a “full and complete pardon” to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, calling his U.S. conviction excessively harsh and politically unfair.
Trump is tying the move to his endorsement of Honduras’ leading conservative candidate, Nasry “Tito” Asfura, just days ahead of the national election.
Hernández is serving a 45-year sentence for drug-trafficking conspiracy following a New York conviction.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump said Hernández had been “treated very harshly and unfairly.”
“I will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly,” Trump wrote.
“This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success.”
Hernández was convicted in March 2024 on charges that he conspired with cartels.
He was accused of moving more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, along with two related weapons offenses.
The former Honduran leader has long denied wrongdoing.
His case became a flashpoint in Washington over the Justice Department’s handling of international prosecutions under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Trump paired his announcement with a forceful endorsement of Asfura, the National Party’s presidential candidate and former mayor of Tegucigalpa.
He emphasized that the United States would be “very supportive” if Asfura wins, citing confidence in his pro-security and pro-growth platform.
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump said he and Asfura “can work together to fight the narcocommunists and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras.”
He also sharply criticized Asfura’s opponents, targeting ruling-party candidate Rixi Moncada and media figure Salvador Nasralla.
“His chief opponent is Rixi Moncada, who says Fidel Castro is her idol,” Trump wrote, warning that left-wing factions are attempting to splinter the conservative vote through Nasralla’s candidacy.
Trump argued that Nasralla “is no friend of Freedom” and accused him of helping the country’s current president, Xiomara Castro, rise to power before “pretending to be an anti-Communist only for the purposes of splitting Asfura’s vote.”
Hondurans will head to the polls on Sunday in a high-stakes election that, according to Reuters, shows Asfura locked in a virtual three-way tie with Moncada and Nasralla.
The winner will govern from 2026 to 2030.
Honduras is currently led by President Xiomara Castro, who took office in 2022 as the country’s first female president and whose administration has moved the nation leftward, aligning with regional socialist blocs.
Trump’s statements reflect an effort to shift U.S. support back toward anti-communist leadership in the region.
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