Trump Pardons Former Honduran President While Declaring Drug War Against Venezuela

US President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez.

President Trump has officially declared a "war on drugs" against Venezuela. However, his announcement faced immediate scrutiny when he simultaneously revealed a "full and complete pardon" for a high-profile convicted cocaine trafficker.

On November 29, Trump ordered comprehensive military and diplomatic operations aimed at dismantling illicit drug networks allegedly linked to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration.

As part of this initiative, the United States has designated the Venezuelan cartel known as Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organization, according to Associated Press reports.

The Trump administration has authorized lethal force against suspected drug-trafficking vessels, deployed Marines to the Caribbean region, and positioned warships strategically. The White House justified these aggressive measures as necessary steps to prevent cocaine from flowing into American communities.

Concurrent with these anti-drug trafficking measures, President Trump pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted in 2024 by a US federal court for facilitating the smuggling of hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States.

Hernandez, who was extradited to the United States in 2022 following two presidential terms in Honduras, had received a 45-year prison sentence for extensive conspiracy involving weapons and drug trafficking operations, as reported by The New York Times.

Trump made this unexpected announcement via social media on Sunday, while endorsing Nasry Asfura, the right-wing party's presidential candidate in Honduras who is affiliated with Hernandez's political faction.

Referencing "many people that I greatly respect," Trump defended the pardon by claiming Hernandez had experienced "very harsh and unfair" treatment within the American justice system.

Political analysts note the significant timing of this pardon, occurring just days before Honduras' presidential election, effectively providing support to the conservative nominee.

According to prosecutors, Hernandez had for years permitted cocaine shipments from Venezuela to transit through Honduras en route to the United States.

Both American and Honduran officials expressed shock at the president's decision to pardon Hernandez. Prosecutors, highlighting Hernandez's abuse of power, connections to criminal trafficking networks, and "the unfathomable destruction" caused by cocaine, had requested that the judge ensure the 57-year-old would remain imprisoned for life.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine characterized the pardon as "unconscionable" and suggested that Trump's actions provided further evidence of a "bogus narrative" regarding his approach to combating illegal narcotics, as reported by The Post.