WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been released from a West Virginia prison after U.S. President Donald Trump formally pardoned him, his attorney Renato Stabile said Tuesday.
Hernandez was sentenced by a U.S. jury last year to 45 years in prison for cocaine importation into the United States and related weapons offenses, according to a 2024 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs.
"On behalf of President Hernandez and his family I would like to thank President Trump for correcting this injustice. President Hernandez is glad this ordeal is over and is looking forward to regaining his life after almost 4 years in prison," Stabile said in a statement.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database showed that Hernandez was released from the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton on Monday.
Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "CONGRATULATIONS TO JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ ON YOUR UPCOMING PARDON ... MAKE HONDURAS GREAT AGAIN!"
Hernandez, a major figure in Honduras's National Party, served as Honduran president for two consecutive terms from 2014 to 2022. Less than a month after leaving office in 2022, he was arrested and extradited to the United States. ■