H.Res. 929

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 929 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 929

Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to cooperate and 
partner with the Government of Honduras to counter narcotics and 
condemning the pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 4, 2025

Mr. Meeks (for himself, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Stanton, 
Ms. Titus, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, and Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to cooperate and 
partner with the Government of Honduras to counter narcotics and 
condemning the pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Whereas Honduras has long been a close and important partner of the United 
States in Central America;
Whereas Juan Orlando Hernandez was elected President of Honduras in 2013 and 
began serving his first term as President in 2014;
Whereas Honduras has a clear one term limit for all Presidents, but Juan Orlando 
Hernandez attacked the rule of law in Honduras and replaced judges until 
a cherry-picked Honduran Supreme Court permitted him to run for 
reelection;
Whereas Juan Orlando Hernandez's brother was convicted on drug trafficking 
charges in the United States during Hernandez's second Presidential 
term;
Whereas United States prosecutors, in an indictment unsealed April 21, 2022, 
established that from 2004 through 2022, Juan Orlando Hernandez 
participated in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to 
import hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United 
States, using his public office to facilitate the operation;
Whereas Juan Orlando Hernandez, former President of Honduras, was arrested, 
extradited to the United States, and prosecuted in the Southern District 
of New York on serious narcotics trafficking and related firearms 
charges;
Whereas the evidence presented at trial showed that Hernandez accepted millions 
of dollars in bribes from major cocaine trafficking networks, and 
directed Honduran law enforcement and military forces to protect 
shipments destined for the United States and evidence at trial indicated 
Hernandez stated to fellow narcotraffickers that ``together they were 
going to shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos'';
Whereas, on June 26, 2024, a United States District Court Judge sentenced 
Hernandez to 45 years in prison, recognizing that the scheme constituted 
one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the 
world, and that his abuse of power inflicted harm on both Honduran and 
American communities;
Whereas the Trump administration has brought the United States military to the 
brink of war with Venezuela to stop ``narcoterrorist'' Nicolas Maduro;
Whereas Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described international drug cartels 
as ``narcoterrorists'' and warned that transnational criminal 
organizations undermine governance, sovereignty, and stability across 
Latin America;
Whereas Secretary of State Marco Rubio has used the indictment of Nicolas Maduro 
in the Southern District of New York on drug trafficking charges as a 
justification to advocate for reckless military action in Venezuela 
without congressional approval;
Whereas the pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez undermines the administration's 
claims it sees drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere as an imminent 
threat to the United States, and jeopardizes cooperation between the 
United States and partner nations in anticorruption efforts, emboldens 
criminal syndicates, and signals that political influence can override 
the rule of law;
Whereas victims of narcotics trafficking in both the United States and Honduras, 
including families affected by addiction, violence, displacement, and 
intimidation, have been denied the full measure of justice they are 
afforded;
Whereas the pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez damages the United States 
credibility as a leader for anticorruption, counter narcotics 
cooperation, and democratic accountability abroad;
Whereas Honduras had an election on November 30, 2025, and the winner remains 
undetermined; and
Whereas the Trump administration continues to unlawfully target alleged 
narcoterrorists in boat strikes resulting in 83 deaths as of the date of 
introduction of this resolution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) emphasizes the importance of a fair vote count and a 
free and fair election in Honduras;
(2) underscores the importance of the United States 
continuing its partnership with Honduras to promote security, 
counter illegal narcotics, address migration, and promote 
economic development, regardless of the ultimate winner of the 
November 30, 2025, election;
(3) urges the Department of State to strengthen efforts to 
combat corruption and narcotics trafficking in Honduras and 
throughout Central America through Magnitsky sanctions and 
coordinated law-enforcement cooperation;
(4) condemns the decision of the President of the United 
States to grant a pardon to former Honduran President Juan 
Orlando Hernandez;
(5) expresses solidarity with victims of drug trafficking, 
corruption, and violence in both the United States and 
Honduras, and recognizes the courage of those who have risked 
their safety to expose wrongdoing by powerful political and 
criminal actors; and
(6) rejects the unauthorized by Congress use of military 
force to kill individuals without the possibility of 
interdiction, trial, and conviction, while pardoning high level 
individuals that have been convicted after a fair trial in 
United States courts.
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