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We have to keep talking about Pedo Don pardoning the cocaine smuggling president who killed thousands of Americans
https://deanobeidallah.substack.com/p/trump-just-pardoned-a-person-responsibleDonald Trump just hit a new low—if that’s even possible. This week he pardoned a person responsible for more American deaths than Bin Laden caused on 9/11. And the reason Trump did this was to personally profit from the transaction. And yes, Trump’s pardons are all transactional in that he benefits from each of them financially and/or politically.
This latest pardon was of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez—a narco-terrorist who was a business associate of the notorious drug dealer El Chapo. Hernandez served as President of Honduras from 2014 to 2022--but in reality his real business was flooding the United States with cocaine. As the U.S. Department of Justice put it, Hernandez “was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world.” (Below is from DOJ Press release after the conviction.)
Trump knew that by pardoning Hernandez it would destroy his claim that the reason he’s executing people in small boats off the coast of Venezuela was to protect Americans from drugs. This is especially true given the cocaine Hernandez dumped into the U.S. killed tens of thousands of Americans by way of overdoses. Yet Trump doesn’t care because the benefit he receives from pardoning this convicted drug kingpin was worth it.
Hernandez was no low-level drug dealer. He was the key player in orchestrating a vast drug trafficking conspiracy that raked in millions for cartels while keeping Honduras one of Central America’s poorest, most violent and most corrupt countries. Federal prosecutors were able to prove in his 2024 trial that Hernández--as a congressman and then President of Honduras--partnered with the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín Guzman Loera aka El Chapo, among other people.
As evidence at trial detailed, members of the Hernandez drug conspiracy often turned to violence and murder to protect and grow their drug trafficking enterprise--attacking rival traffickers who threatened their grip on the Honduran cocaine trade. As DOJ explained, Hernandez’s co-conspirators “were armed with machine guns and destructive devices, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers, which they used to protect their massive cocaine loads as they transited across Honduras on their way to the United States.”
In return, Hernandez personally received “millions of dollars of drug money from some of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran politics.” Yes, he worked with the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for producing fentanyl-- the primary driver of U.S. drug overdose deaths as the DEA has documented.
This guy was worse than “Scarface” in that he used the full powers of his political offices to benefit himself and his partners in crime. DOJ proved that at trial, explaining that as Hernández rose to power in Honduras, “he provided increased support and protection for his co-conspirators, allowing them to move mountains of cocaine, commit acts of violence and murder, and help turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous countries in the world.”
Hernandez would corruptly work with the United States to prosecute drug traffickers who threatened his grip on power--while at the same time promising drug traffickers who bribed him that they would remain safe in Honduras. And as prosecutors showed at trial, Hernandez enjoyed unleashing the cocaine on the United States, boasting he would “stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses.”
Overall, the federal government proved that during his political career, “Hernández abused his powerful positions and authority in Honduras to facilitate the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S.” Yes, the man Trump just pardoned facilitated the smuggling of 400 tons of cocaine into our nation--which is the equivalent of 800,000 pounds or 363 million grams.
This latest pardon was of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez—a narco-terrorist who was a business associate of the notorious drug dealer El Chapo. Hernandez served as President of Honduras from 2014 to 2022--but in reality his real business was flooding the United States with cocaine. As the U.S. Department of Justice put it, Hernandez “was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world.” (Below is from DOJ Press release after the conviction.)
Trump knew that by pardoning Hernandez it would destroy his claim that the reason he’s executing people in small boats off the coast of Venezuela was to protect Americans from drugs. This is especially true given the cocaine Hernandez dumped into the U.S. killed tens of thousands of Americans by way of overdoses. Yet Trump doesn’t care because the benefit he receives from pardoning this convicted drug kingpin was worth it.
Hernandez was no low-level drug dealer. He was the key player in orchestrating a vast drug trafficking conspiracy that raked in millions for cartels while keeping Honduras one of Central America’s poorest, most violent and most corrupt countries. Federal prosecutors were able to prove in his 2024 trial that Hernández--as a congressman and then President of Honduras--partnered with the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín Guzman Loera aka El Chapo, among other people.
As evidence at trial detailed, members of the Hernandez drug conspiracy often turned to violence and murder to protect and grow their drug trafficking enterprise--attacking rival traffickers who threatened their grip on the Honduran cocaine trade. As DOJ explained, Hernandez’s co-conspirators “were armed with machine guns and destructive devices, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers, which they used to protect their massive cocaine loads as they transited across Honduras on their way to the United States.”
In return, Hernandez personally received “millions of dollars of drug money from some of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran politics.” Yes, he worked with the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for producing fentanyl-- the primary driver of U.S. drug overdose deaths as the DEA has documented.
This guy was worse than “Scarface” in that he used the full powers of his political offices to benefit himself and his partners in crime. DOJ proved that at trial, explaining that as Hernández rose to power in Honduras, “he provided increased support and protection for his co-conspirators, allowing them to move mountains of cocaine, commit acts of violence and murder, and help turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous countries in the world.”
Hernandez would corruptly work with the United States to prosecute drug traffickers who threatened his grip on power--while at the same time promising drug traffickers who bribed him that they would remain safe in Honduras. And as prosecutors showed at trial, Hernandez enjoyed unleashing the cocaine on the United States, boasting he would “stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses.”
Overall, the federal government proved that during his political career, “Hernández abused his powerful positions and authority in Honduras to facilitate the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S.” Yes, the man Trump just pardoned facilitated the smuggling of 400 tons of cocaine into our nation--which is the equivalent of 800,000 pounds or 363 million grams.
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