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'Persecuted Very Unfairly': Trump Defends Pardon Of Honduras' Former President After Maduro's Arrest

Posted By: Tarun Kumar Posted On: Jan 05, 2026Share Article
Persecuted Very Unfairly
Trump defended the pardon of Hernandez, saying that he had been "persecuted very unfairly.”

'Persecuted Very Unfairly': Trump Defends Pardon Of Honduras' Former President After Maduro's Arrest

The Trump administration is facing renewed scrutiny following the dramatic US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. This action has revived criticism over President Donald Trump's decision last year to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who had been convicted on major drug-trafficking charges.

During a press conference on Saturday, Trump defended the pardon after being pressed by a reporter on the apparent contradiction, saying Hernandez, “was the head of the country" and had been “persecuted very unfairly," despite his conviction.

Trump Compares Hernandez's Treatment To His Own Legal Troubles

Trump also compared Hernandez's treatment to his own legal troubles, saying, “He was treated like the Biden administration treated a man named Trump," a reference to his criminal prosecutions over classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election after leaving office.

He also pointed to his support for Nasry Asfura, the president-elect of Honduras, as a factor in the pardon. “He's also a party member of the man who won, so obviously the people liked what I did," Trump said, adding, “And one of the reasons that was done is because of the fact that the party in power felt very strongly that that man was treated very badly."

Trump further indicated he consulted his national security team, saying, “I went to a lot of the people standing behind me, and they felt that that man was persecuted and treated very badly."

The US captured Maduro on Saturday after a pre-dawn, extensive military operation, and he now faces charges in New York, including narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Hernandez was convicted in 2024 of conspiring with drug traffickers and using his position in government to help hundreds of tons of cocaine enter the United States. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison before Trump pardoned him in November, saying in a Truth Social post that he had been “treated very harshly and unfairly."

What Marco Rubio Said About Hernandez's Pardon

Asked about the contrast, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on said, “I don't do the pardon file," adding, “whether you agree with that decision or not … that doesn't mean you leave Maduro in place."

The US operation drew sharp criticism from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also, who on Saturday labelled Trump's indictment of Maduro “hypocritical," arguing that the administration cannot justify its actions solely on drug-trafficking grounds while having pardoned Hernandez, whom US prosecutors said was responsible for facilitating the shipment of more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

Swipe Left For Next Video

“If the President grounds his actions on the basis of drug trafficking charges, it is entirely hypocritical in light of his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez who was responsible for bringing more than 400 tons of cocaine in the United States in order to ‘shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos,'" Pelosi wrote on social platform X.

Pelosi's remarks underscored growing political backlash as the administration seeks to defend its aggressive stance against Maduro while facing questions over consistency in its anti-drug policies.

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