Pardon

Amid an election in Honduras, President Trump pardoned the country’s former president, who was serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking.

Context

Last year, a US court convicted Honduras’ former president, Juan Orlando Hernández, of receiving millions in bribes and aiding cocaine traffickers, resulting in a 45-year prison sentence.

Hernández’s prosecution had started in Trump’s first term and concluded under Biden, with the judge who sentenced him calling him “a two-faced politician hungry for power” who pretended to aid anti-drug efforts while partnering with drug traffickers, including Mexico’s El Chapo, to extend his own profit and power.

Pardon

On Friday, Trump unexpectedly pardoned Hernández, writing, “CONGRATULATIONS TO JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ ON YOUR UPCOMING PARDON...MAKE HONDURAS GREAT AGAIN!”

The pardon came as a shock in both the US and Honduras, where elections were scheduled for Sunday. It also came as the US conducts strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats and pressures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down over allegations of drug trafficking.

Election

That election has emerged as a flashpoint in the US conflict with Venezuela, with Trump warning that if the left-wing Libre party wins, Venezuela could “take over” Honduras. Trump has said a victory for Libre would empower “narcoterrorists” and urged voters to support the conservative National Party, writing that “[their candidate] and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras.”

Pardon Meaning

Hernández, the pardoned president, was a member of the National Party. While Trump may perceive pardoning him as boosting the right wing’s chances in the Honduras election, it also follows a months-long effort by Hernández’s family to persuade Trump that Hernández was unfairly targeted by the Biden Administration.