The appeal runs out of road
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said the case against former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández should be dismissed after President Donald Trump’s pardon made the appeal moot. The court sent the matter back to District Judge Kevin Castel with instructions to vacate the sentence and end the case. Hernández had been extradited in 2022 and later sentenced in 2024 to 45 years in prison on charges tied to cocaine import conspiracy and firearms offenses. Federal court can move fast when a pardon clears the track.
What prosecutors said
Prosecutors had accused Hernández of helping move more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States during his years in office, and their case leaned heavily on testimony from convicted traffickers. That kind of evidence is common in major narcotics cases, but it always comes with the usual courthouse scent of bargains, deals, and people trying very hard to save themselves. Hernández’s supporters said the case was political from the start, while critics pointed to the size of the alleged operation and the scale of the public corruption claim.
The pardon changed the map
Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon on Dec. 1, 2025, saying Hernández had been treated unfairly and had been the target of a setup. Once the pardon was in place, the appeal no longer had a live legal fight to settle, so the Second Circuit dismissed it as moot. In federal law, that is the polite way of saying the whole argument is over and the paperwork may now go enjoy a quiet life in storage. The court’s order also erased the sentence from the active record.
Hernández and his allies celebrate
Hernández posted the ruling on X and attached court papers showing the dismissal order. His account said the conviction and sentence were overturned, while his wife, Ana García, said the charges no longer exist. He also shared the ruling here:
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