Overview
- Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted by a U.S. jury of a conspiracy to traffic more than 400 tons of cocaine, was released from federal custody following President Trump’s full pardon.
- Honduras’s presidential race remains too close to call, with tallies showing a razor‑thin margin between National Party candidate Nasry Asfura and centrist Salvador Nasralla.
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the decision undermines counternarcotics efforts and pressed for an explanation of how it makes the U.S. safer, while Senator Bill Cassidy questioned its consistency with the administration’s hard line on Nicolás Maduro.
- Ana Garcia, Hernández’s wife, said he does not plan an immediate political return and cited threats to his life as a reason to remain out of public view.
- Trump allies celebrated the pardon, and reporting describes advocacy by Roger Stone and figures tied to Honduras’s Próspera special economic zone in support of clemency.