By JOSH BOAK<\/p>\n
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (AP) \u2014 President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0said Friday that he will be pardoning former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who in 2024 was\u00a0convicted for drug trafficking<\/a> and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.<\/p>\n The president explained his decision on social media by posting that \u201caccording to many people that I greatly respect,\u201d Hernandez was \u201ctreated very harshly and unfairly.\u201d<\/p>\n In March of last year, Hernandez was convicted in U.S. court of conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S.A. He had served served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people.<\/p>\n Hernandez has been appealing his conviction and serving time at the U.S. Penitentiary, Hazelton in West Virginia.<\/p>\n Shortly after Trump\u2019s announcement, Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s wife and children gathered on the steps on their home in Tegucigalpa and kneeled in prayer, thanking God that Hern\u00e1ndez would return to their family after almost four years apart.<\/p>\n It was the same home that Honduran authorities hauled him out of in 2022 just months after leaving office. He was extradited to the United States to stand trial.<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda said they had just been able to speak with Hern\u00e1ndez and tell him the news.<\/p>\n \u201cHe still didn\u2019t know of this news and believe me, when we shared it his voice broke with emotion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda thanked Trump, saying that Trump had corrected an injustice, maintaining that Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s prosecution was a coordinated plot by drug traffickers and the \u201cradical left\u201d to seek revenge against the former president.<\/p>\n She said they had not been told exactly when Hern\u00e1ndez would return, but said \u201cwe hope that in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n A lawyer for Hernandez, Renato C. Stabile, expressed gratitude for Trump\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n \u201cA great injustice has been righted and we are so hopeful for the future partnership of the United States and Honduras,\u201d Stabile said. \u201cThank you President Trump for making sure that justice was served. We look forward to President Hernandez\u2019s triumphant return to Honduras.\u201d<\/p>\n A separate lawyer for Hernandez, Sabrina Shroff, declined comment.<\/p>\n The post was part of a broader message by Trump\u00a0backing Nasry \u201cTito\u201d Asfura<\/a>\u00a0for Honduras\u2019 presidency, with Trump saying the U.S. would be supportive of the country if he wins. But if Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump posted that \u201cthe United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Asfura, 67, is making his second run for president for the conservative National Party. He was mayor of Tegucigalpa and has pledged to solve Honduras\u2019 infrastructure needs. But he has previously been accused of embezzling public funds, allegations that he denies.<\/p>\n In addition to Asfura, there are two other likely contenders for Honduras\u2019 presidency:\u00a0Rixi Moncada<\/a>, who served as the finance and later defense secretary before leaving to run for president for the incumbent democratic socialist Libre party, and\u00a0Salvador Nasralla<\/a>, a former television personality who is making his fourth bid for the presidency, this time as the candidate for the Liberal Party.<\/p>\n Trump has framed Honduras\u2019 election as trial for democracy, suggesting in a separate Truth Social post that if Asfura loses, the country could go the way of Venezuela and fall under the influence of that country\u2019s leader,\u00a0Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump has sought to apply pressure on Maduro, ordering a\u00a0series of strikes<\/a>\u00a0against\u00a0boats suspected of carrying drugs<\/a>, building up the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean with warships including the Navy\u2019s\u00a0most advanced aircraft carrier<\/a>, the USS Gerald R. Ford.<\/p>\n The U.S. president has\u00a0not ruled out taking military action<\/a>\u00a0or covert action by the CIA against Venezuela, though he has also\u00a0floated that he was open<\/a>\u00a0to speaking with Maduro.<\/p>\n Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has leaned into a leftist stance, but she has kept a pragmatic and even cooperative attitude in dealing with the U.S. administration and she has received visits from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, when she was the commander of U.S. Southern Command. The president has even backed off his threats to end Honduras\u2019 extradition treaty and military cooperation with the U.S.<\/p>\n Under Castro, Honduras has also received its citizens deported from the U.S. and acted as a bridge for deported Venezuelans who were then picked up by Venezuela in Honduras.<\/p>\n Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch admirer of Trump, also gave his support to Asfura in Honduras on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI fully support Tito Asfura, who is the candidate who best represents the opposition to the leftist tyrants who have destroyed Honduras,\u201d the libertarian president said on his X account.<\/p>\n Associated Press reporter Mike Sisak in Lancaster, Pennsylvania contributed to this report.<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By JOSH BOAK WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. 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