Politics Honduras: Trump announces pardon for ex-president
Shortly before the presidential election in Honduras, US President Donald Trump announces the pardon of right-wing ex-president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving time in the USA for drug trafficking. At the same time, he promised US support in the event that the right-wing candidate Nasry "Tito" Asfura, who is running for ex-President Hernández's National Party, is elected.
29.11.2025, 12:23
SDA
If the former mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa wins, Honduras can count on the support of the USA; if not, Washington would not waste any money, Trump wrote in two long posts on his Truth Social platform.
Three promising candidates in Honduras
In the Central American country with eleven million inhabitants, there are three promising main contenders for the presidency. Former Finance and Defense Minister Rixi Moncada is running for the left-wing governing party Libre. The most promising opposition candidates are Asfura and Salvador Nasralla from the Liberal Party.
Trump wrote, "Tito and I can fight together against the narco-communists and get much needed help to the people of Honduras. I cannot work with Moncada and the Communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for freedom and cannot be trusted."
Ex-president allegedly turned Honduras into a drug state
Hernández, who is imprisoned in the USA, was president of Honduras between 2014 and 2022. Shortly after his term of office ended, he was extradited to the USA. According to the indictment, he allegedly turned Honduras into a "drug state" in order to corrupt the country's institutions and enrich himself.
The conservative politician is alleged to have helped drug smugglers - including the Mexican ex-cartel boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who is now in custody in the USA - to smuggle hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine via Honduras to the USA.
Trump sees ex-president treated unfairly
Trump, who has just set his sights on Venezuela because he accuses President Nicolás Maduro of drug trafficking, went on to write that Hernandez had been "treated very harshly and unfairly" according to many people he holds in high esteem. He will therefore grant him a full and comprehensive pardon.
After sentencing the ex-president to 45 years in prison, the US Department of Justice wrote that as president of Honduras, Hernández had abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world. The people of Honduras and the United States have suffered the consequences.
