Trump’s Pardon Power: Rewarding 'Allies' in the Drug War
Donald Trump has pledged to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, recently sentenced to 45 years in a US prison for drug trafficking. Hernández, who oversaw tons of cocaine flow into the US, was (and this is key) a long-term US ally in the region. This is the same 'ally' whose brother, Tony Hernández, was also convicted on drug charges in 2019, despite the former president
receiving millions in US aid and public support from both Trump and Biden administrations. The BBC story implies mere capriciousness from Trump, but it conveniently skips over the decades of US support for Hernández's regime, even as evidence of his narco-ties mounted. One might wonder if 'political enemy' is just code for 'former asset who got caught too publicly.' How many 'wars on terror' or
'wars on drugs' end with the US pardoning its own proxy thugs once their usefulness expires? Perhaps the 'rule of law' is less about justice and more about strategic convenience for Washington.