Nancy Fairbanks (letters, Jan. 20) argues that the prosecution of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández amounted to prosecutorial overreach because it carried foreign-policy consequences. But nearly every major international criminal case does. Terrorism, sanctions violations, arms trafficking, and transnational drug conspiracies routinely affect diplomacy, yet no serious legal scholar suggests that prosecutors must stand down whenever foreign policy might be affected.
The central flaw in her argument is the claim that Hernández was merely “a drug dealer, not the state of Honduras.” But the prosecution presented evidence at trial, upon which the jury convicted, showing the opposite: that while in office, Hernández used the powers of his office — including military units, police protection, and government infrastructure — to facilitate cocaine trafficking into the United States. More than 400 tons of cocaine while he was in office. When the leader of a country weaponizes state institutions to traffic drugs, the crime is no longer purely personal.
Further, this is not a separation-of-powers issue. The Justice Department is part of the executive branch of the U.S. government. The attorney general reports directly to the president of the United States.
A presidential pardon can be constitutional and still profoundly damaging to the rule of law. Following his pardon from President Donald Trump and his release from prison, the current Honduran government issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández in December 2025. He is reportedly currently living in the United States.
Philip Wasserman
Stevenson Ranch
