Honduras Goes Against Trump, Issues International Arrest Warrant Against Former President Pardoned For Drug-Trafficking

The Honduran government is going against President Donald Trump, issuing an international arrest warrant against former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who he pardoned last week for drug-trafficking charges.

"We have been lacerated by the tentacles of corruption and by the criminal networks that have deeply marked the life of our country," said Honduran attorney general Johel Antonio Zelaya Alvarez in a social media post. He has also sought the help of Interpol.

Hernandez was released from prison last week after being pardoned by Trump. He was convicted in June 2024 York federal court after being found guilty of drug and gun trafficking charges. He was also required to pay a $8 million fine.

His whereabouts since are unknown, with his wife telling The Washington Post that he was in a "safe place" in the U.S. for his security. However, she added, he is "very eager to get in touch with the Honduran people." His wife and daughters remain in Honduras.

Trump has defended pardoning Hernandez. Speaking to press aboard the Air Force One last week, Trump was asked why he would "pardon a notorious drug trafficker." "The people of Honduras really thought he was set up. He was the president of the country and they basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country. They said it was a Biden administration setup and I looked at the facts and I agreed with them," Trump claimed.

Asked about the facts he was referring to, he said: "You take any country you want. If someone sells drug in that country that doesn't mean you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life," he added.

Trump has been heavily criticized for the move. One of those who took aim at him was Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego. "So we are illegally killing drug runners in the Caribbean on boats that will never make it to the US and pardoning cartel kingpins that a US jury has convicted for drug running? Anyone else see how this doesn't make sense?" Gallego said in a social media publication, a reference to accusations against the administration of conducting extra-judicial killings with its strikes of alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.