Kaine, Cortez Masto to Force Senate Vote Demanding Transparency into Human Rights Violations by Former President of Honduras

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced legislation to require the Trump Administration to produce a report detailing Honduras's human rights violations under former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who President Trump gave a "full and complete pardon" in December of 2025.

Hernández was convicted by a U.S. jury for conspiring to import hundreds of tons of cocaine and for related weapons offenses and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. The former Honduran president has also been accused of taking bribes from Joaquín Guzmán, the infamous Mexican cartel leader known as "El Chapo," and raking in millions of dollars from drug trafficking organizations.

"Americans deserve answers about why President Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, a notorious and convicted narcotrafficker who had previously bragged about flooding the United States with cocaine," said Kaine. "This legislation, which is guaranteed to receive a vote on the floor of the Senate, will require a detailed report about the crimes and human rights abuses that Hernández has committed against Hondurans and Americans and let the American people decide whether President Trump should have pardoned him."

"President Trump's inexplicable pardon of Juan Orlando Hernández puts into sharp relief President Trump's hypocrisy on public safety," said Cortez Masto. "The American people deserve to fully understand the connections between Hernández's government, drug trafficking organizations, and Honduras's human rights record. Congressional Republicans should stand with us and ensure President Trump doesn't get a free pass for pardoning a notorious drug trafficker."

In the coming weeks, Kaine and Cortez Masto will force a vote on this resolution which would outline the human rights abuses under former President Hernández. This resolution asks for information about:

• Connections between high-level Honduran government officials and drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel;
• Corruption of Honduran government officials related to drug trafficking, including money laundering and bribery;
• Torture, rape, illegal detention, witness tampering, and murder in connection with drug cartels and drug trafficking, and efforts to undermine police reforms and drug crime investigations.

The resolution also demands a description of the steps the United States has taken to promote respect for human rights in Honduras and bring Honduran government officials to justice for their involvement in drug trafficking. Finally, it requires an assessment from the Secretary of State of former President Juan Orlando Hernández's current status post-conviction and any ongoing ties he maintains to drug cartels.

Under the legislation, if the Administration fails to produce the report, security assistance to Honduras would be prohibited by federal law. The legislation is privileged under the Foreign Assistance Act, meaning the Senate will be forced to vote on the measure.

The full resolution can be found here.

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