'A Biden setup': Trump doubles down on pardon for drug trafficker

Donald Trump says a convicted drug trafficker will receive the presidential pardon, doubling down on a statement made two days ago.

The president made it clear he would issue a "full and complete pardon" to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of drug trafficking last year. He was sentenced to 45 years in U.S. federal prison for helping move massive quantities of cocaine into the United States.

Trump announced the plan to pardon Hernandez on Friday, and speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, confirmed the plan to pardon the former president would go ahead. Trump even referred to the arrest and subsequent charge of Hernandez as "a Biden setup", The Daily Beast reported.

He said, "Well, I was told—I was asked by Honduras, many of the people of Honduras, they 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."

Hernandez was extradited to the U.S. in 2022 and sentenced in a New York federal courtroom two years later for taking bribes from drug traffickers to move “well over approximately 4.5 billion individual doses of cocaine.”

But Trump has since insisted that the people of Honduras believe Hernandez was set up, and that he "agreed" with them. He added, "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 that."

When pushed to share evidence of Hernandez's innocence, Trump replied, "They could say that you take any country you want, if somebody sells drugs in that country, that doesn’t mean you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life. That includes this country."

Earlier this week, Trump passed comment on the Honduras elections, calling on people to "vote for Tito Asfura" and even congratulated Hernandez on his "upcoming pardon".

He wrote, "This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success.

"VOTE FOR TITO ASFURA FOR PRESIDENT, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ ON YOUR UPCOMING PARDON."