US Pardons Drug Lord Amidst 'Democracy Promotion' Campaign
Juan Orlando Hernández, the former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking, is now free thanks to a US presidential pardon. The BBC frames this as a 'Trump pardon,' implying this is an anomaly. But let's rewind: Hernández was a 'key figure' in drug operations after the 2009 US-backed coup against democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya, which the Obama administration, with Hillary
Clinton as Secretary of State, legitimised. The US then lavished Hernández's government with aid, effectively enabling his corruption even as allegations mounted. This isn't just about one pardon; it's a systemic pattern of US policy destabilizing Central American nations, then bailing out their preferred strongmen when the messy details hit the fan. So, the US allows Honduras to be destabilized,
supports a regime that fosters widespread corruption and drug trafficking, and then when its chosen leader is finally caught, he's quietly pardoned. One might wonder if the 'war on drugs' only applies to those not deemed useful to US geopolitical interests. The hypocrisy would be stunning if it weren't so tragically predictable.