Pardoned by Trump and freed from US prison, Juan Orlando Hernández gives interview praising conservative allies while Honduras grapples with a tense election and his own uncertain future.
WASHINGTON — In his first public comments since being pardoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, convicted Honduran ex-leader Juan Orlando Hernández praised Trump for influencing politics in his home country, even as he faces a renewed arrest warrant and an uncertain future.
Hernández, who was serving a 45-year sentence in the U.S. for drug trafficking before Trump’s pardon, claimed in an interview with One America News (OAN) that Trump had opened “a lot of people’s eyes in Honduras.” He pointed to Trump’s endorsement of conservative presidential candidate Nasry Asfura in the current, still-unresolved Honduran election.
“The Honduran people sent a clear message. Overwhelmingly, they rejected the failed ideology of the radical left,” Hernández stated, framing the election as a rejection of socialism.
That election remains on a knife’s edge. Asfura, a Trump-backed businessman, holds a razor-thin lead over conservative TV personality Salvador Nasralla. The counting process has been marred by computer failures and allegations of interference, which the left-wing government of President Xiomara Castro has cited in rejecting provisional results. Castro’s party has also accused Trump’s support for Asfura and his pardon of Hernández as acts of electoral interference.
Hernández, extradited and convicted under the Biden administration, maintains his prosecution was a political “setup” due to his conservative policies. He did not disclose his current location or immediate plans, including whether he will seek asylum in the U.S.
“My priority right now is how I can reunite with my family. I haven’t seen them in four years,” he said. When asked about possibly seeking asylum in Israel—a country he cultivated ties with by recognizing Jerusalem as its capital—he called it “a very complicated move.”
His legal troubles are far from over. The Honduran prosecutor’s office has reactivated an arrest warrant for him. Hernández labeled this “a clear example of political persecution” and suggested his safety would be at risk if he returned, citing unspecified FBI documents about threats to his life.
The former president’s release and comments add a volatile new layer to Honduras’s charged political climate, intertwining U.S. influence, domestic electoral strife, and ongoing legal battles.
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