## Trump Pardons Former Honduran President Convicted of Drug Trafficking
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, has been granted a pardon. The decision has sparked criticism, with accusations of hypocrisy leveled against the Trump administration given it’s ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking from Venezuela.
Critics argue the pardon undermines the administration’s stated commitment to ending the drug trade. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, called the decision “shocking,” stating, “He was the leader of one of the largest criminal enterprises that has ever been subject to a conviction in U.S. courts,and less than one year into his sentence,President Trump is pardoning him,suggesting that President Trump cares nothing about narcotrafficking.”
hernández’s time in office briefly coincided with Trump’s first term. During this period, Hernández cultivated support from the trump administration by moving the Honduran embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, joining a small group of nations in doing so.
Trump previously criticized Hernández’s prosecution, telling reporters last week that individuals he respects informed him Hernández was “treated very harshly and unfairly.” One such individual is reportedly Roger Stone,Trump’s longtime political advisor,who lobbied for Hernández’s release. Stone revealed on his radio show that he delivered a four-page letter from Hernández claiming wrongful conviction and “lawfare by the Biden-Harris administration.”
Trump foreshadowed the pardon in a social media post last week, writing, “CONGRATULATIONS TO JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ ON YOUR UPCOMING PARDON… MAKE HONDURAS GREAT AGAIN!”
Court documents detail how Hernández allegedly abused his position to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States, receiving millions of dollars in drug money from major trafficking organizations.
Judge P. Kevin Castel, who presided over the case, described Hernández as a “two-faced politician hungry for power.” Former Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Hernández ”abused his presidency to operate the contry as a narco-state where violent traffickers operated with near-total impunity.”
Hernández consistently maintained his innocence and was appealing his conviction while incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia.
This pardon is not the first from Trump to draw scrutiny. Since returning to office, he has pardoned numerous political and business allies, leading to accusations of a “pay to play” scheme.These include supporters loyal to the MAGA movement,a cryptocurrency executive connected to his family’s crypto firm,and dozens of individuals who attempted to overturn his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden.
