Trump Pardons Alleged Drug Kingpin, Crying 'Rule of Law'
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), convicted on drug trafficking charges, is now a free man thanks to a last-minute pardon by Donald Trump. The Hill reports this as a simple pardon, moving past the inconvenient fact that JOH was, according to US prosecutors, a key player in moving 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. His conviction was based on years of US intelligence
work, implicating him and his brother in a vast criminal enterprise while he held the highest office. This isn't just a 'pardon'; it's a presidential seal of approval on alleged narco-state operations. One might wonder if the 'rule of law' only applies when it's politically convenient or when the accused isn't part of the US-approved regional strongman club. The mainstream media dutifully reports
the pardon, effectively normalizing the erasure of justice for an individual whose regime was propped up by US foreign policy during much of his tenure in power.