A Pardon with Geopolitical Significance: Trump, Hernández and the Honduran Right Wing
Trump’s second presidential term has seen a profound change in U.S. attitudes toward Latin America. Brazil, Venezuela, and now Honduras; proof of the drastic shift in American foreign policy.
“Your Excellency.” This is how former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández started his letter to U.S. President Donald Trump. Written from his American prison cell, it is a letter that was probably the crucial factor in Trump’s eventual decision to pardon him for drug-trafficking crimes, alongside a relentless lobbying campaign by Roger Stone, an old friend of Trump’s who himself benefited from a presidential pardon. In the letter, Hernández insists that his legal troubles were the result of political persecution from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ administration, which, he says, aimed to empower his political adversaries in Honduras. He also claims not to have received effective legal representation.
“I write to you from a federal penitentiary, unjustly serving a 45-year sentence, effectively a life sentence given my age. Just as you, President Trump, I have suffered political persecution, targeted by the Biden-Harris administration not for any wrongdoing, but for political reasons,” writes Hernández, who uses this argument to delegitimize his sentence, before going on to frame his own case by repeatedly flattering Trump: “Your resilience in the face of relentless political persecution has inspired me deeply. Like you, I sought only to serve my people, to uphold our conservative values while leading unprecedented reforms to make my country stronger and safer.”
Hernández’s letter was delivered to Trump by Roger Stone, who acted not only as an intermediary, but as a source of active pressure in favor of his release. Taking advantage of his direct access to the president, he made use of the media platform Substack, his radio program, and other social media channels. Stone, who received a presidential pardon in 2020, had been sentenced to 40 months behind bars for making false statements to Congress, obstructing a congressional investigation, and tampering with a witness during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in part to protect Trump and his campaign team.
Stone publicly stated that Hernández had been subjected to a campaign of “legal war,” motivated by political reasons, that was initiated by the Biden administration and United States attorneys. He believes that he was singled out as an ally of Trump, brought down to benefit the current center-left government in Honduras, led by President Xiomara Castro. According to Stone, criminal proceedings brought against Trump’s allies in the U.S. -– both American citizens and foreign nationals -– form part of a legal system weaponized by the Democrats, meaning that pardons are seen simultaneously as a “correction” of injustice and a weapon of political warfare.
In the case of Honduras, Stone explicitly linked the decision to pardon Hernández (who belonged to and gained power with the conservative National Party of Honduras) with the U.S.’ geopolitical influence in Central America. He argued that Hernández’s liberation would give renewed energy to the Honduran right wing, destabilize President Castro’s government, and strengthen what he believes to be Trump and the U.S.’ interests in the region.
Undoubtedly, Trump’s second presidential term has seen a profound change in U.S. attitudes toward Latin America. Brazil, Venezuela, and now Honduras, are proof of the drastic shift in American foreign policy. It is highly likely that the U.S.’ attention will soon turn to Honduras’ neighbor, Nicaragua. It is evident that countries in the Americas with left-wing governments are at risk of falling victim to the powerful influence of the North American giant as it tries to coax a continent-wide shift to the political right.
Meanwhile, Antonio “Tony” Hernández, Juan Orlando’s brother, continues to serve a sentence of more than 30 years in the United States for drug trafficking and related crimes. There is no publicly available information that suggests he has been pardoned, had his sentence reduced or that he has been freed; he remains locked away in a U.S. federal penitentiary. However, and despite having had $138.5 million seized by the government, he is more than just the brother of the former president. Antonio Hernandez is a former deputy in the National Congress of Honduras, suggesting that his release would further strengthen the Honduran right-wing. We live in times of “post-truth,” in which more weight is given to emotions, identity and beliefs than to verified facts. In this world, anything goes.
“Your Excellency.” This is how former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández started his letter to U.S. President Donald Trump. Written from his American prison cell, it is a letter that was probably the crucial factor in Trump’s eventual decision to pardon him for drug-trafficking crimes, alongside a relentless lobbying campaign by Roger Stone, an old friend of Trump’s who himself benefited from a presidential pardon. In the letter, Hernández insists that his legal troubles were the result of political persecution from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ administration, which, he says, aimed to empower his political adversaries in Honduras. He also claims not to have received effective legal representation.
“I write to you from a federal penitentiary, unjustly serving a 45-year sentence, effectively a life sentence given my age. Just as you, President Trump, I have suffered political persecution, targeted by the Biden-Harris administration not for any wrongdoing, but for political reasons,” writes Hernández, who uses this argument to delegitimize his sentence, before going on to frame his own case by repeatedly flattering Trump: “Your resilience in the face of relentless political persecution has inspired me deeply. Like you, I sought only to serve my people, to uphold our conservative values while leading unprecedented reforms to make my country stronger and safer.”
Hernández’s letter was delivered to Trump by Roger Stone, who acted not only as an intermediary, but as a source of active pressure in favor of his release. Taking advantage of his direct access to the president, he made use of the media platform Substack, his radio program, and other social media channels. Stone, who received a presidential pardon in 2020, had been sentenced to 40 months behind bars for making false statements to Congress, obstructing a congressional investigation, and tampering with a witness during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in part to protect Trump and his campaign team.
Stone publicly stated that Hernández had been subjected to a campaign of “legal war,” motivated by political reasons, that was initiated by the Biden administration and United States attorneys. He believes that he was singled out as an ally of Trump, brought down to benefit the current center-left government in Honduras, led by President Xiomara Castro. According to Stone, criminal proceedings brought against Trump’s allies in the U.S. -– both American citizens and foreign nationals -– form part of a legal system weaponized by the Democrats, meaning that pardons are seen simultaneously as a “correction” of injustice and a weapon of political warfare.
In the case of Honduras, Stone explicitly linked the decision to pardon Hernández (who belonged to and gained power with the conservative National Party of Honduras) with the U.S.’ geopolitical influence in Central America. He argued that Hernández’s liberation would give renewed energy to the Honduran right wing, destabilize President Castro’s government, and strengthen what he believes to be Trump and the U.S.’ interests in the region.
Undoubtedly, Trump’s second presidential term has seen a profound change in U.S. attitudes toward Latin America. Brazil, Venezuela, and now Honduras, are proof of the drastic shift in American foreign policy. It is highly likely that the U.S.’ attention will soon turn to Honduras’ neighbor, Nicaragua. It is evident that countries in the Americas with left-wing governments are at risk of falling victim to the powerful influence of the North American giant as it tries to coax a continent-wide shift to the political right.
Meanwhile, Antonio “Tony” Hernández, Juan Orlando’s brother, continues to serve a sentence of more than 30 years in the United States for drug trafficking and related crimes. There is no publicly available information that suggests he has been pardoned, had his sentence reduced or that he has been freed; he remains locked away in a U.S. federal penitentiary. However, and despite having had $138.5 million seized by the government, he is more than just the brother of the former president. Antonio Hernandez is a former deputy in the National Congress of Honduras, suggesting that his release would further strengthen the Honduran right-wing. We live in times of “post-truth,” in which more weight is given to emotions, identity and beliefs than to verified facts. In this world, anything goes.
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