Trump Pardons Venezuelan Billionaire After Family Pays Lawyer $50 Million
Julio Herrera Velutini received clemency weeks after his family hired Trump's former lawyer Alina Habba under a deal worth more than $50 million.
KEY POINTS
- Trump pardoned Venezuelan billionaire Julio Herrera Velutini in a corruption case
- Herrera Velutini faced US criminal charges since August 2022 and pleaded guilty in August 2025
- His daughter Isabela donated 3.5 million dollars to a Trump-linked campaign committee
- The family hired Alina Habba under a deal worth more than 50 million dollars over four years
- Watchdogs question the donations and the pardon timeline
US President Donald Trump pardoned Venezuelan billionaire Julio Herrera Velutini, who faced serious criminal charges in the United States since August 2022. Federal prosecutors accused him of participating in a bribery scheme involving former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vazquez Garced.
Herrera Velutini reached an unusually lenient plea agreement in August 2025 for a lesser campaign finance law violation. He still viewed the reduced charge as a stain on his record and sought a presidential pardon.
“Julio Herrera Velutini really wanted a pardon.”
His daughter Isabela Herrera, a US citizen aged 27, donated 3.5 million dollars to an independent campaign committee linked to Trump. The pardon remained elusive until autumn 2025.
The Herrera family then hired Alina Habba, Trump's former personal lawyer and a Justice Department adviser at the time. She was offered 10 million dollars per year for four years plus bonuses, totaling more than 50 million dollars.
Habba became legal director of Concord Partners, a company Isabela Herrera established in Florida in late October 2025. The firm has no public presence and its business remains unclear.
Trump granted Herrera Velutini clemency weeks after the family's arrangements with Habba. Watchdogs are questioning the donations and the timeline of the pardon.
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