Juan Orlando Hernandez freed after Trump’s ‘full and complete’ pardon

Juan Orlando Hernandez freed after Trump’s ‘full and complete’ pardonHernandez, who was serving a 45-year sentence for drug conspiracy, received ‘full and unconditional pardon’, lawyer says.Published On 2 Dec 2025Authorities in the United States have released former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a lengthy prison sentence for drug trafficking, after US President Donald Trump pardoned him.Hernandez’s lawyer, Renato Stabile, confirmed that the former Honduran president was freed on Tuesday, a day after being pardoned.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Hegseth or Admiral Bradley: Who approved the second Venezuela boat strike?list 2 of 3Trump’s boat bombings: How the US has long used ‘double-tap’ strikeslist 3 of 3Trump cries foul over ‘technical tie’ in Honduras presidential raceend of list“President Trump has issued a full and unconditional pardon, signed, Dec 1, 2025. President Hernandez was released from prison early this morning,” Stabile told Al Jazeera in an email.A federal prison database showed that Hernandez was released from a detention centre in West Virginia after spending more than three years in US jail.Last year, Hernandez was sentenced to 45 years for involvement in a scheme to export cocaine in the US, which prosecutors described as “one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world”.Trump announced plans to pardon the former Honduran president last week as he called for the people in the Central American country to back right-wing candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura, a member of Hernandez’s party.“I will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.“This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success.”Hernandez was convicted of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from violent drug-trafficking organisations over 18 years, which he used to fuel his rise in politics.