presidency

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — President Trump said Friday that he will be pardoning former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who in 2024 was convicted for cocaine trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in U.S. prison.

Trump, explaining his decision on social media, wrote that “according to many people that I greatly respect,” Hernandez was “treated very harshly and unfairly.”

The pardoning of a convicted drug trafficker comes as the Trump administration is carrying out deadly military strikes in the Caribbean that it describes as an anti-narcotics effort.

A jury in U.S. federal court in New York last year found that Hernandez had conspired with drug traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the United States. In handing down the 45-year sentence, the judge in the case had called Hernandez a “two-faced politician hungry for power” who protected a select group of traffickers.

Trial witnesses included traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of murders and said Hernandez was an enthusiastic protector of some of the world’s most powerful cocaine dealers, including notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life prison term in the U.S.

Hernandez, who had served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of about 10 million people, had been appealing his conviction and serving time at the U.S. Penitentiary, Hazelton, in West Virginia.

Shortly after Trump’s pardon announcement, Hernández’s wife and children gathered on the steps of their home in Tegucigalpa and kneeled in prayer, grateful that Hernández would return to their family after almost four years apart.

It was the same home that Honduran authorities hauled him out of in 2022 just months after leaving office. He was extradited to the United States to stand trial.

García said they had just been able to speak with Hernández and tell him the news.

“He still didn’t know of this news, and believe me, when we shared it his voice broke with emotion,” she said.

García thanked Trump, saying that the president had corrected an injustice, maintaining that Hernández’s prosecution was a coordinated plot by drug traffickers and the “radical left” to seek revenge against the former president.

She said they had not been told exactly when Hernández would return, but said that “we hope … in the coming days.”

A lawyer for Hernandez, Renato C. Stabile, expressed gratitude for Trump’s actions. “A great injustice has been righted, and we are so hopeful for the future partnership of the United States and Honduras,” Stabile said.

U.S. prosecutors had said that Hernandez worked with drug traffickers dating back to 2004, taking millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from rural congressman to president of the National Congress and then to the country’s highest office.

Hernandez acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself. Hernandez had insisted during his trial that he was being persecuted by politicians and drug traffickers.

Trump’s post Friday was part of a broader message backing Nasry “Tito” Asfura for Honduras’ presidency, with Trump saying the U.S. would be supportive of the country only if he wins. If Asfura loses the election Sunday, Trump threatened in his post, “the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is.”

Asfura, 67, is making his second run for president for the conservative National Party. He was mayor of Tegucigalpa and has pledged to solve Honduras’ infrastructure needs. He has previously been accused of embezzling public funds, allegations that he denies.

In addition to Asfura, there are two other likely contenders for Honduras’ presidency: Rixi Moncada, who served as the finance secretary and later defense secretary before running for president for the incumbent democratic socialist Libre party; and Salvador Nasralla, a former television personality who is making his fourth bid for the presidency, this time as the candidate for the Liberal Party.

Trump has framed Honduras’ election as a trial for democracy, suggesting in a separate Truth Social post that if Asfura loses, the country could go the way of Venezuela and fall under the influence of that country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has sought to apply pressure on Maduro, ordering a series of strikes against boats the U.S. suspects of carrying drugs, building up the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean with warships including the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.

The U.S. president has not ruled out taking military action or covert action by the CIA against Venezuela, though he has also floated that he was open to speaking with Maduro.

Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has governed as a leftist, but she has maintained a pragmatic and even cooperative position in dealing with the Republican U.S. administration. She has received visits from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, when she was head of U.S. Southern Command. Trump has even backed off his threats to end Honduras’ extradition treaty and military cooperation with the U.S.

Under Castro, Honduras has also received its citizens deported from the U.S. and acted as a bridge for deported Venezuelans who were then picked up by Venezuela in Honduras.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of Trump, also gave his support to Asfura in this weekend’s election.

“I fully support Tito Asfura, who is the candidate who best represents the opposition to the leftist tyrants who have destroyed Honduras,” Milei said Friday on his X account.

Boak and Sherman write for the Associated Press and reported from West Palm Beach and Tegucigalpa, respectively. AP writer Mike Sisak in Lancaster, Pa., contributed to this report.

YORBA LINDA — Eulogizing his old boss here last week, even Henry A. Kissinger couldn’t help note the irony: Richard Nixon himself–the man who kept a list of “enemies” in the media–probably would have been overwhelmed by all the good press he’d been getting after his death.

The tributes for Nixon were unending, the tones reverent. Imagery of King Lear and Sophocles, of an indomitable warrior and an anguished soul, of reconciliation and forgiveness–all were dominant themes in the media for days.

But now, particularly in the days since Nixon’s burial, the tone of public debate seems to have shifted again, as many critics who had maintained a respectful silence have begun to demand a harsher assessment of a man who never gave up reinventing himself. For them, the plaudits had grown too loud, too quickly.

“Now we’re seeing the backlash the other way,” said Daniel Schorr, a commentator for National Public Radio, who earned a spot on Nixon’s “enemies list” in the early 1970s.

The protests of “enough already” have come from a variety of forums–from radio call-in shows to letters to the editor and television and newspaper commentaries.

Stanley Kutler, a University of Wisconsin historian who wrote a book on Watergate and has waged a years-long legal battle for access to more of Nixon’s records, says he is confident that the critical eye of history will largely erase the current wave of pro-Nixon nostalgia.

“I expected this kind of outpouring. Nixon spent 20 years working for it,” Kutler said. “But in the final analysis, whatever space he gets in the history books will begin with this sentence: ‘Richard Nixon, the first U. S. President to resign because of scandal . . . ‘ “

Said Tom Wicker, a New York Times columnist who wrote a widely cited biography of Nixon: “This outpouring of eulogies and great long lines (at the Yorba Linda viewing) show there was always a lot of support for Mr. Nixon among people who regretted he had to resign. . . . Out of a certain respect for the dead, (critics) haven’t had much to say lately. And only now are they coming around to say, ‘Wait a second, let’s look at reality.’ ”

Perhaps the most personal plea for more balance in the public’s ongoing farewells to Nixon has come from Jack Sirica, the son of the late federal judge who became famous because of Watergate.

A reporter for Newsday in Long Island, N.Y., Sirica said that colleagues had been urging him since Nixon’s death to write a column on his father and Nixon. He resisted for several days, he said, fearing his assessment would sound too harsh.

But Sirica said he changed his mind last week when he passed a school on his way to work and saw children playing around a flag at half-staff.

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He had already read a story saying many children thought Nixon was a pretty good guy, and it was then, seeing that flag, that he decided to write a column. The piece recounted his father’s disillusionment in listening to the infamous Watergate tapes, and it ran the day after Nixon’s funeral under a headline that read: “My Dad Decided Nixon Was a Crook.”

“What concerned me more than anything was that the enormity of the crime seemed to have been getting lost,” Sirica, 41, said in an interview. “Watergate had become, if not a minor footnote, then at least something that could be quickly dispensed with in the historical record.”

But for many among the conservative supporters that Nixon liked to refer to as the Silent Majority, the adulation will continue unabated for the onetime hero of the GOP. They see this as a time of long-overdue recognition for a man who has been unfairly vilified because of a single event in an otherwise distinguished career of public service.

Even after a state funeral attended by dignitaries from around the world Wednesday, mourners continued to turn out by the thousands throughout the week to pay their respects to the freshly sodded grave at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda.

Brian Hayes, 32, took two days off work as a substitute teacher to pay homage to Nixon, and he waited patiently in line for the library to reopen to the public Thursday.

“My interest in politics came about because of him. I consider him the greatest statesman we ever had,” the Long Beach man said. “Despite Watergate, there’s an outpouring of affection for the man, and I think he richly deserves it.”

Cheri Pepka, 24, of Rancho Santa Margarita, cooed softly to her four small children about Nixon’s accomplishments as they waited to sign a guest book at the library, and she told them about a scrapbook she had started to commemorate his life and death.

“One day you’ll understand all of this. You’ll understand what he meant to our country,” she promised the children.

Democrats and Republicans alike stressed similar themes in the days following Nixon’s death on April 22, pointing to the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, an arms control agreement with the former Soviet Union, an end to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and other achievements in foreign affairs.

Indeed, praise came from what once would have seemed unlikely corners.

President Clinton–who came of political age in the 1960s while protesting Nixon’s policies in Vietnam–called for a national “day of mourning” and delivered an eloquent eulogy on Nixon’s legacy. And former Sen. George McGovern, who also attended the funeral, spoke in an interview after the service about “reconciling” with the man who helped derail McGovern’s own failed bid for the Presidency in 1972 through a campaign of “dirty tricks.”

“About Nixon, Leaders Stress Triumphs, Not Downfall,” trumpeted the New York Times on its April 24 front page, a refrain carried by other newspapers around the country.

The favorable media coverage that Kissinger noted at last week’s funeral reflects a combination of dynamics–some that are particular to Nixon himself, others that are inevitable in any attempt to gauge public opinion, media and political observers say.

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In part, the positive reaction reflects the enormous efforts that Nixon made to rehabilitate his image, writing 10 books after his resignation and making frequent appearances on the world stage. As Schorr of NPR said: “He spent 20 years running for ex-President.”

In part, it reflects the overwhelming pomp and circumstance of the first state funeral for a President in more than two decades. And in part, it reflects the feeling that there is something unseemly about criticizing someone who has just died–no matter his scandals.

“It’s almost an America truism that you speak no ill of the dead,” said KABC radio talk-show host Michael Jackson. “I had one caller (on Nixon) who said: ‘My mother always told me if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. So goodby.’ ”

Yet Jackson said callers to his show resisted the general portrayal of Nixon in the media, openly criticizing the former President by about a 4:1 margin.

“They have been tough and blunt and to the point–that he’s been given a free ride,” Jackson said. “I was quite surprised. There were people who identified themselves as Republicans, and even they criticized him.”

Several scholars and media critics said they believe that Nixon’s treatment in the public eye after his death is an inevitable and, in some respects, appropriate phenomenon.

“When somebody dies, you try and look at the good things he did,” said Stephen Hess, a noted student of the media with the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“We were not there to write Richard Nixon’s place in history, but to bury him. What you saw (in media coverage) was in part good manners and in part tradition,” he said. “I don’t really think that’s the time to be looking for balance.”

But Dick O’Neill, a longtime Democratic activist in Orange County who headed the state party, said he was overwhelmed by the glowing coverage that Nixon received.

“I thought, ‘Jesus, this is really something. They’re burying a field marshal,’ ” he said. “It just blew my mind, considering the guy was almost impeached. To say, ‘It’s over with, let’s forget it,’ I think that’s the best way.

“But the people here in Orange County, they went bananas. . . . The young people especially–I don’t know what happened to them. They amazed me how shook up they were, as if some relative had died,” he mused.

The low point for him, O’Neill said, came when an aide working on a Democratic campaign–”a young, progressive Democrat, “ he stressed–volunteered to drive a car for the Nixon funeral last week to help transport dignitaries. “It was beyond me,” he said.

Kutler, the Wisconsin historian, isn’t worried, though. The Nixon biographer and critic says he figures that in three months, when the 20th anniversary of Nixon’s resignation is recounted around the country, the fickle currents of public opinion will find Nixon’s supporters on the defensive once more.

“Then everyone’s going to remember again, they’re going to remember the humiliation that this country went through, the national disgrace,” he said. “And they’ll get it all straight again.”

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Times staff writer Lee Romney contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — On the campaign trail, Donald Trump was unapologetic about putting America first. He promised to secure the nation’s borders, strengthen the domestic workforce and be tough on countries he thought were taking advantage of the United States.

Now, 10 months into his second term, the president is facing backlash from some conservatives who say he is too focused on matters abroad, whether it’s seeking regime change in Venezuela, brokering peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza or extending a $20-billion currency swap for Argentina. The criticism has grown in recent days after Trump expressed support for granting more visas to foreign students and skilled immigrant workers.

The cracks in the MAGA movement, which have been more pronounced in recent weeks, underscore how Trump’s once impenetrable political base is wavering as the president appears to embrace a more global approach to governing.

“I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally,” Trump said this week when asked to address the criticism at an Oval Office event. “We could have a world that’s on fire where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president.”

For backers of Trump’s MAGA movement, the conflict is forcing some to weigh loyalty to an “America first” ideology over a president they have long supported and who, in some cases, inspired them to get involved in the political process.

“I am against foreign aid, foreign wars, and sending a single dollar to foreign countries,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who in recent weeks has become more critical of Trump’s policies, said in a social media post Wednesday. “I am America First and America Only. This is my way and there is no other way to be.”

Beyond America-first concerns, some Trump supporters are frustrated with him for resisting the disclosures about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his network of powerful friends — including Trump. A group of Republicans in the House, for instance, helped lead an effort to force a vote to demand further disclosures on the Epstein files from the Justice Department.

“When they are protecting pedophiles, when they are blowing our budget, when they are starting wars overseas, I’m sorry, I can’t go along with that,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said in a CNN interview. “And back home, people agree with me. They understand, even the most ardent Trump supporters understand.”

When asked to respond to the criticism Trump has faced in recent weeks, the White House said the president was focused on implementing “economic policies that are cutting costs, raising real wages, and securing trillions in investments to make and hire in America.”

Mike Madrid, a “never Trump” Republican consultant, believes the Epstein scandal has sped up a Republican backlash that has been brewing as a result of Trump deviating from his campaign promises.

“They are turning on him, and it’s a sign of the inviolable trust being gone,” Madrid said.

The MAGA movement was not led by a policy ideology, but rather “fealty to the leader,” Madrid said. Once the trust in Trump fades, “everything is gone.”

Criticism of Trump goes mainstream

The intraparty tension also has played out on conservative and mainstream news outlets, where the president has been challenged on his policies.

In a recent Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump was pressed on a plan to give student visas to hundreds of thousands of Chinese students, a move that would mark a departure from actions taken by his administration this year to crack down on foreign students.

“I think it is good to have outside countries,” Trump said. “Look, I want to be able to get along with the world.”

In that same interview, Trump said he supports giving H-1B visas to skilled foreign workers because the U.S. doesn’t have workers with “certain talents.”

“You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory where we’re going to make missiles,’” Trump argued.

Trump in September imposed a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas for skilled workers, a move that led to confusion among businesses, immigration lawyers and H-1B visa holders. Before Trump’s order, the visa program had exposed a rift between the president’s supporters in the technology industry, which relies on the program, and immigration hard-liners who want to see the U.S. invest in an American workforce.

A day after Trump expressed support for the visa program, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem added fuel to the immigration debate by saying the administration is fast-tracking immigrants’ pathway to citizenship.

“More people are becoming naturalized under this administration than ever before,” Noem told Fox News this week.

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and close ally of Trump, said the administration’s position was “disappointing.”

“How is that a good thing? We are supposed to be kicking foreigners out, not letting them stay,” Loomer said.

Polling adds on the heat

As polling shows Americans are growing frustrated with the economy, some conservatives increasingly blame Trump for not doing enough to create more jobs and lower the cost of living.

Greene, the Georgia Republican, said on “The Sean Spicer Show” Thursday that Trump and his administration are “gaslighting” people when they say prices are going down.

“It’s actually infuriating people because people know what they’re paying at the grocery store,” she said, while urging Republicans to “show we are in the trenches with them” rather than denying their experience.

While Trump has maintained that the economy is strong, administration officials have begun talking about pushing new economic policies. White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said this week that the administration would be working to provide consumers with more purchasing power, saying that “we’re going to fix it right away.”

“We understand that people understand, as people look at their pocketbooks to go to the grocery store, that there’s still work to do,” Hassett said.

The acknowledgment comes after this month’s elections in key states — in which Republicans were soundly defeated — made clear that rising prices were top of mind for many Americans. The results also showed Latino voters were turning away from the GOP amid growing concerns about the economy.

As Republicans try to refocus on addressing affordability, Trump has continued to blame the economic problems on former President Biden.

“Cost, and INFLATION, were higher under the Sleepy Joe Biden administration, than they are now,” Trump said in a social media post Friday. He insisted that under his administration costs are “tumbling down.”