Former Honduran President Freed Following U.S. Pardon

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has been released from a United States prison. His release follows a pardon from former U.S. President Donald Trump. Hernández was serving a life sentence after a New York court convicted him on drug trafficking charges earlier this year. U.S. prosecutors had accused him of accepting millions of dollars to protect cocaine shipments bound for the United States. The pardon, a formal act of executive clemency, voids his prison sentence. Such pardons are a constitutional power of the U.S. presidency and forgive a person for a federal crime. Hernández led Honduras from 2014 to 2022. His arrest and trial occurred after he left office. He has consistently denied the charges against him.