President Trump stated Friday that he might be pardoning former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who in 2024 was convicted in New York for drug trafficking and weapons costs and sentenced to 45 years in jail.
The president defined his determination on social media by posting that “in accordance with many individuals that I tremendously respect,” Hernandez was “handled very harshly and unfairly.”
In March of final yr, Hernandez was convicted in U.S. court docket of conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S. He had served two phrases because the chief of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million folks.
Elmer Martinez / AP
The put up was a part of a broader message by Mr. Trump backing Tito Asfura for Honduras’ presidency, with Mr. Trump saying the U.S. could be supportive of the nation if he wins. But when Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump posted that “america won’t be throwing good cash after dangerous, as a result of a incorrect Chief can solely convey catastrophic outcomes to a rustic, irrespective of which nation it’s.”
Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has leaned right into a leftist stance, however she has saved a practical and even cooperative angle in coping with the U.S. administration and he or she has acquired visits from Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Military Gen. Laura Richardson, when she was the commander of U.S. Southern Command. The president has even backed off his threats to finish Honduras’ extradition treaty and army cooperation with the U.S.
Beneath Castro, Honduras has additionally acquired its residents deported from the U.S. and acted as a bridge for deported Venezuelans who had been then picked up by Venezuela in Honduras.
