Requesting: United StatesRequested: Honduras

Juan Orlando Hernandez: extradition case and outcome

Juan Orlando Hernandez, president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was arrested in Tegucigalpa at the request of the United States in February 2022, weeks after leaving office, and was extradited in April 2022. A Manhattan jury convicted him in March 2024 and he was sentenced to 45 years in June 2024. He was released from a US prison on 1 December 2025 after a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Extradited Extradited from Honduras to the United States in April 2022.¹

Charges as alleged. US prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that he took bribes from drug traffickers so they could move about 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras to the United States, and that he used the military and national police to protect the trade. He was charged with drug trafficking and firearms offences. The Justice Department pardon list names the offences as conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of that conspiracy, and conspiracy to use and carry them.^2,1,3,4

Charges are allegations unless a court has convicted. Each record states what each court or minister decided and the person's public response.

Decisions

February 2022Honduran authoritiesArrested at his home in Tegucigalpa at the request of the US government.^2,1
April 2022Honduran authoritiesExtradited to the United States.¹
March 2024Federal jury, US District Court for the Southern District of New YorkConvicted him after a two week trial.¹
26 June 2024US District Judge P. Kevin CastelSentenced him to 45 years in prison and fined him 8 million dollars. Prosecutors had sought life plus 30 years.¹
1 December 2025President of the United StatesGranted a pardon, listed by the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney under 1 December 2025 for conspiracy to import cocaine and two machine gun and destructive device offences. He was released from US Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia the same day, according to the Bureau of Prisons as reported by AP.^4,2,3

What happened next

Convicted by a jury in March 2024 and sentenced on 26 June 2024 to 540 months (45 years) in prison, five years of supervised release and an 8 million dollar fine. Pardoned by President Trump on 1 December 2025, according to the Justice Department, and released the same day. AP reported that Honduran Attorney General Johel Zelaya said his office must seek justice and end impunity but did not specify charges.^1,4,2,3

Response

He maintained his innocence and told the court at sentencing "I am innocent" and "I was wrongly and unjustly accused". After the pardon his attorney Renato Stabile thanked Trump "for correcting this injustice".^1,2

Legal points

He argued he was the victim of revenge by drug traffickers he had helped extradite to the United States, according to AP.²
Trump said Hernandez had been set up by the Biden administration, according to AP.²

Sources

Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour), Former Honduran president sentenced to 45 years for helping drug traffickers get cocaine into U.S. (26 June 2024)
Associated Press (via ABC7), Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez freed after Trump pardon in drug trafficking case (2 December 2025)
Reuters (via Business Day), Former Honduran president freed from US prison after Trump pardon (2 December 2025)
US Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025 to Present) (20 October 2026)