Trump Pardons Former honduran President Amidst Drug โTrafficking Accusations and election Interference Claims
TEGUCIGALPA,HONDURAS – In a move drawing sharp criticism,former U.S.President Donald Trump has pardoned Juan Orlando Hernรกndez, theโข ex-president of Honduras, โwho was convicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges. The pardon has ignited debate โover the motivations โฃbehind the decision, withโค some alleging it’s a smokescreen for broader geopolitical ambitions in the โฃregion.
Hernรกndez was accused of โfacilitating โฃtheโค shipment of โคtons ofโค cocaine to the โUnited States whileโค in office. The pardon comesโ as Trump has publicly championed โa hardline stance against drug โขtrafficking,โข claiming to โขhave “done more than anyone to combat the scourge of illicit drug-related deaths” by “securing the border” and “striking narcoterrorists.”
However, Democraticโข Senator Tim Kaine, a long-time critic of hernรกndez, condemned the pardon, stating in a recent interview with CBS โฃthat โขTrump “makes fun โคof drug trafficking” by proposing to releaseโฃ “the leader of one of the largestโค criminal organizations ever convictedโ by American courts.”
The timing of the โpardon also coincides โwith heightened U.S. interest in the political landscape of โHonduras. During the recent Honduran presidential election held โขon sunday, the White House โคopenly supported right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura, even โคthreatening to withhold aid if he did not win.โ Trumpโ posted on Truth Social, questioning whether Venezuelan President nicolรกs Maduro โand “his narcoterrorists” wouldโ “take over another country like they did Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela?”
Accordingโค to preliminary results fromโ the โขNationalโ Electoral Council (CNE), Asfuraโค secured 40.6% of the vote,narrowly โคdefeating his right-wing competitor Salvador Nasralla (38.8%) and significantly outpacingโค left-wing โcandidate Rixi Moncada (19.6%). Moncada denounced the U.S. actionsโข asโค “interference.”
The Newโข York Times reported that Trumpist advisors have privately expressed interest in Venezuela’s โคoil reservesโ andโค discussed the possibility of impeaching Maduro. The American dailyโข also noted that the “massive deployment of Americanโ forces in the Caribbean” โlacked “strategic justification,” suggesting “broader ambitions.”
