President Donald Trumppardoned a former Honduran leader sentenced to prison on cocaine distribution charges, a move the White House says doesn't undermine Trump's anti-drug campaign that includesmilitary strikes on alleged drug boats near Venezuela.
Trump said Nov. 28that he planned to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. A White House official and Hernandez's attorney, Renato Stabile, confirmed Dec. 2 that the pardon has now been issued. Stabile said Hernandez was released early Dec. 2 from a federal prison, where he was serving a 45-year sentence "for cocaine importation and related weapons offenses," according to the Justice Department.
Hernandez was "at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world," helping to bring more than 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S., the Justice Department said ina press release last year after his conviction.
US military conducts deadly boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers
Trump said in a social media post that he was issuing the pardon because "people that I greatly respect" told him Hernandez was "treated very harshly and unfairly."Axios reportedthat longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone lobbied for the pardon.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Dec. 1 press conference that Hernandez's case was a "clear... over prosecution" by former PresidentJoe Biden's administration. Leavitt responded to a question about whether the clemency action undercuts Trump's posture toward Venezuela, which includes the boat strikes and a large buildup of military forces, by saying "I don't think so."
"I think thatPresident Trumphas been quite clear in his defense of the United States homeland to stop these illegal narcotics from coming to our borders, whether that's by land or by sea," Leavitt said. "And he's also made it quite clear that he wants to correct the wrongs of the weaponized Justice Department under the previous administration."
Trump has made cracking down on illegal drug trafficking central to his second term, imposing tariffs on countries heaccuses of not doing enough to stop fentanyl distribution. His administration has also launched an aggressive campaign targeting alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers that has drawn criticism from legal experts and members of Congress.
Trump told military service members during a Thanksgiving call that hesoon will expandthe military operation around Venezuela to include strikes on land.
This story has been updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Donald Trump pardons former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez
