(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson shared Thursday heartfelt stories of former inmates who had their sentences commuted by President Donald Trump ahead of Thanksgiving.
In an X post, Johnson, herself a beneficiary of a Trump pardon, highlighted Anabel Valenzuela and Edward and Joe Sotelo, all of whom received harsh federal sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
Valenzuela, a Las Vegas mother of two, was slapped to 32 years in 2010 for her role in a meth trafficking and money-laundering scheme that primarily ran out of Hawaii between 2002 and 2005.
According to nonprofit Can Do Clemency, Valenzuela never once traveled to Hawaii, not even for vacation. At the time of her sentence, Valenzuela was 23, and her children were just two and three years old. They are now adults.
She previously acknowledged her role in the scheme, but criminal justice reform activists described her sentence as excessive for a first-time, non-violent offender.
Trump pardoned her in May 2025.
“During the nearly two decades she spent behind bars, the babies she left at home grew into adults,” Johnson wrote. “Seeing this mother reunited with her sons after all these years is a Thanksgiving miracle in every sense.”
Johnson also highlighted the Sotelo brothers, who were sentenced to life in prison over drug-related offenses in the 1990s. Their sentences were the result of now-outdated sentencing guidelines.
The brothers were arrested by DEA Special Agent William Travis, who later abruptly resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct with a confidential informant and accusations of fabricating evidence for a search warrant.
While in prison, the Sotelo brothers assisted cold-case detective Manuel Reyes in solving old cases in Texas and pursued education and training.
The brothers, pardoned by Trump in August 2025, now work at a family restaurant they helped start out of prison in 2017.
Johnson said she was “deeply grateful” to see them celebrating the holiday with their 88-year-old mother after three decades apart.
“These are miracles of mercy, and each one reminds us of the extraordinary power of second chances,” she wrote. “And this year, many others made it home as well — mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters who now get to rebuild their lives and rejoin their families.”
Ed Martin, a special attorney at the DOJ, reacted to Johnson’s post, saying, “Everyone in the U.S. Pardon Office is grateful for Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson’s leadership and compassion.”
He added that her “remarkable life’s story is about hope and determination—something we could all use more of.”
Everyone in the U.S. Pardon Office is grateful for Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson’s leadership and compassion. Her remarkable life’s story is about hope and determination—something we could all use more of. ⚖️ https://t.co/vhaLZl53st
— Ed Martin (@EdMartinDOJ) November 28, 2025
