Trump's Pardon of Honduran "Drug Kingpin" Raises Questions Amnid US "War o Drugs"
"Many of the people of Honduras said it was a Biden setup."
Published Dec. 1 2025, 7:20 p.m. ET
It's no secret that President Donald Trump often moves in mysterious ways. As a businessman, his public moves and decisions can often be unfathomable to people not in his inner circle, so it's not uncommon for him to do something that has the general public scratching their heads in confusion.
But in November 2025, he really stepped in it with a baffling decision that drew strong backlash even among supporters.
It all started when Trump promised to pardon the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández. While Trump seemed to suggest that Hernández was unfairly maligned and a fellow target of what Trump likes to call a "witch hunt," the former President was found guilty of some serious crimes.
Here's what we know about why Trump pardoned Hernández and what he had to say about pardoning a famed drug kingpin as the war on drugs in the United States escalates.
Why did Trump promise to pardon the former President of Honduras?
Hernández was the President of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. While in office, according to the US Justice Department, the former President took millions of dollars in bribes from "violent drug-trafficking organizations," using the money "to fuel his rise in Honduran politics."
In 2024, Politico reports, he was sentenced to 57 years in US prison for helping drug traffickers safely move hundreds of tons of cocaine through his country into the United States (per Politico).
In the same Justice Department press release, they added, "... as Hernández rose to power in Honduras, he provided increased support and protection for his co-conspirators, allowing them to move mountains of cocaine, commit acts of violence and murder, and help turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous countries in the world."
It is against this dramatic and ominous background which Trump's plan to pardon the former President stands in stark contrast to his previous actions.
On Nov. 28, 2025, Trump wrote on Truth Social that people he trusts have told him Hernandez has been “treated very harshly and unfairly.”
As a result, the US President said he would be issuing a pardon. A pardon which has eyebrows raising all over the world, including among some of Trump's staunchest supporters.
Why would Trump pardon a drug lord even as the US ramps up it's "war on drugs"?
The question on everyone's mind: why exactly would the President of the United States pardon someone involved in such high profile and high impact drug crimes, when he has made the war on drugs such a huge part of his second administration?
After all, one of Trump's favorite reasons to deport undocumented immigrants is that he says they are contributing to the drug crisis in the United Sates, nearly always claiming so without proof. So, why the sudden about face?
The answer is baffling.
While speaking with the press pool aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2025, Trump explained, "Many of the people of Honduras said it was a Biden setup. ... He was the president of the country, and they basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country. And they said it was a Biden administration setup, and I looked at the facts and I agreed with them" (via CBS News).
Alarmingly, this isn't the first time Trump seems to have pardoned a controversial figure. In October 2025, Trump issued a pardon for crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao. According to Politico, the pardon came shortly after boosting Trump's crypto portfolio.
But in November 2025, when asked about the pardon, Trump admitted he didn't know Zhao, and pardoned him on the recommendation of those around him, praising his sons' crypto ventures (via CNBC).
Like the Hernández pardon, Zhao's pardon raised many unanswered questions.