US President Trump has issued a pardon to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, a move widely condemned as hypocritical given his own administration's actions against boatloads of Venezuelan nationals accused of drug trafficking.
Hernandez's record is marked by a long list of crimes that have largely been ignored in the media narrative surrounding his pardon. These include widespread violence, extortion, murder, and corruption that were allowed to flourish during his eight-year rule due to US support.
Prior to his presidency, Hernandez was involved with drug traffickers, accepting millions from Mexican cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. He also led a 2012 coup against the Honduran Supreme Court and then illegally re-ran for president in 2016 after being barred by the constitution.
During this time, US officials actively ignored or backed Hernandez's actions, including former Secretary of State John Kerry praising his 2013 election as "transparent, peaceful, and reflected the will of the Honduran people." The US also continued to provide significant military aid to Honduras during this period, despite evidence that some members of the Honduran security forces were collaborating with drug traffickers.
Trump's actions have sparked outrage among those who point out that Hernandez's pardon ignores a more extensive history of US support for him. Critics say that those in Washington responsible for enabling Hernandez should be held accountable alongside the former president himself.
The long history of US involvement in Honduras, particularly under Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, has been marked by a consistent disregard for democratic norms and institutions. The pardon issued by Trump serves as another example of this pattern of hypocrisy and highlights the need to scrutinize the actions of those who have enabled Hernandez's rule.
As Dana Frank noted in her research on Honduras, "US intervention in Honduras is a history of repressive US policy that has consistently disregarded the country's democratic institutions."
Hernandez's record is marked by a long list of crimes that have largely been ignored in the media narrative surrounding his pardon. These include widespread violence, extortion, murder, and corruption that were allowed to flourish during his eight-year rule due to US support.
Prior to his presidency, Hernandez was involved with drug traffickers, accepting millions from Mexican cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. He also led a 2012 coup against the Honduran Supreme Court and then illegally re-ran for president in 2016 after being barred by the constitution.
During this time, US officials actively ignored or backed Hernandez's actions, including former Secretary of State John Kerry praising his 2013 election as "transparent, peaceful, and reflected the will of the Honduran people." The US also continued to provide significant military aid to Honduras during this period, despite evidence that some members of the Honduran security forces were collaborating with drug traffickers.
Trump's actions have sparked outrage among those who point out that Hernandez's pardon ignores a more extensive history of US support for him. Critics say that those in Washington responsible for enabling Hernandez should be held accountable alongside the former president himself.
The long history of US involvement in Honduras, particularly under Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, has been marked by a consistent disregard for democratic norms and institutions. The pardon issued by Trump serves as another example of this pattern of hypocrisy and highlights the need to scrutinize the actions of those who have enabled Hernandez's rule.
As Dana Frank noted in her research on Honduras, "US intervention in Honduras is a history of repressive US policy that has consistently disregarded the country's democratic institutions."
. I mean, come on, the dude was involved with drug traffickers and corruption galore during his presidency, and we're supposed to just forget about it? It's like, hello! You can't just pardon someone for being a complete disaster and expect everyone to be all smiles 
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. It's hypocritical, plain and simple.
. It's a pattern that's been going on for way too long, and we need to start holding people accountable for it 
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. We've always been a bit too quick to intervene in other countries, even when it means undermining democracy and human rights. It's time for us to take a step back and reevaluate our foreign policy 
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. I mean, we all know about El Chapo and how Trump's team turned a blind eye to it, but this pardon for Juan Orlando Hernandez takes the cake 
. It's like they're saying "hey, we knew about your shady past, but we'll just sweep it under the rug this one time" 
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. We need to be holding those in power accountable, not just letting them get away with whatever they want 
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. I mean, who needs to investigate corruption and crime when you've got powerful people backing you up, right? It's all about covering each other's backs. And the US just sits back and does nothing, which is crazy. It's not like they didn't know what was going on. They were probably just too scared to rock the boat. Trump thinks he's some kinda hero for giving this guy a free pass, but really he's just perpetuating more of the same old hypocrisy that's been going on in Washington forever 
. I'm not buying it.
I'm so frustrated with this pardon 
. It feels like Trump and his team are trying to rewrite history 
. Like, we all know about El Chapo and how Hernandez took millions from him, but what about all the other shady stuff? The violence, extortion, murder... that went down on his watch? 
It's not just about Hernandez, it's about the pattern of US support for corrupt leaders in Honduras 
. We need to hold our leaders accountable for enabling these kinds of regimes, not just pardoning them and moving on 
. I'm still waiting to see some real change... 
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. And what really gets me is how they're trying to spin this as some kind of hypocritical act on Trump's part... like, no, dude, you've been ignoring the same issues for years and now suddenly you're gonna pretend like you didn't know? 
. We need to be calling out all these powerful people in Washington who have been complicit in Hernandez's crimes, not just Trump himself 
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ouch! Trump's pardon is like a slap in the face to all those Hondurans who suffered under Hernandez's rule 
. It's also a major red flag for US hypocrisy 
. The data shows that the US has been consistently disregarding democratic norms in Honduras since Obama's admin... 
Honduras: US Intervention & Democracy (2009-2020) = 27 instances of undermining democratic institutions 
. I mean, I get that politics can be complicated, but come on! It feels like Trump is trying to rewrite history or something 
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We all know there were plenty of folks in Washington who knew about his shady dealings and still gave him a pass. It's like, can we at least have some consistency here? 
What's even more wild is that we got US officials basically giving Hernandez a free pass in the past too. Like, what's going on here?! Is this some kind of master plan to make America... wait for it... drug trafficking? 
I mean, it just don't add up and now all these questions are swirling around in my head. Did we just get duped by Trump and his crew all over again? 
. Hernandez has been involved with cartels and committing crimes left and right, and now Trump is just covering his tracks 
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Man... what can you even say about Trump's pardon for this guy? I mean, have you seen his record? It's like a never-ending list of crime and corruption. And to think he was supported by the US government back then is just crazy talk 