Justice is optional': why Trump's pardon of Honduran ex-president scares nature defenders

"When Donald Trump announced that he would pardon the former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, only the second world leader to be convicted of drug trafficking, Anna*, an environmental defender, was shocked. In 2022, Hernandez, also known as JOH, was extradited to the US and later convicted, along with his brother, on drug trafficking and weapons charges. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle more than 400 tonnes of cocaine into the US."

"During his presidency, Hernandez was known for his rightwing policies that favoured extractive economies, regardless of their environmental impact. To activists such as Anna, he is notorious for the Honduran government investing nearly $72m (57m) to expand palm oil production, which led to severe violence and deforestation that are still evident today. As Hernandez was sentenced, environmental defenders had seen the trial as rare evidence that people, even at the highest level, could be prosecuted and held accountable."

Juan Orlando Hernández was extradited to the US in 2022 and convicted, along with his brother, on drug trafficking and weapons charges, later sentenced to 45 years for conspiring to smuggle over 400 tonnes of cocaine into the US. He faced accusations of grave human rights violations. His presidency promoted rightwing, extractive economic policies, including nearly $72m invested to expand palm oil, driving severe violence and deforestation. Environmental defenders saw his conviction as rare accountability; the presidential pardon reversing that outcome signals renewed impunity. Honduras suffers weakened state capacity, rampant corruption, and extreme dangers for environmentalists, with more than 90% of rights violations unpunished.

Read at www.theguardian.com