Contradictory U.S. policy: Pardoning drug trafficker while targeting Venezuela

Pars Today – Despite threatening Venezuela under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking, Donald Trump has pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of narcotics offenses.

In a contradictory move, Trump has justified all his threats against Venezuela with the excuse of “combating drug trafficking,” yet has issued a full pardon for a drug trafficker — the former president of Honduras.
According to Pars Today, citing Fars News, Trump’s “full and unconditional pardon” of the former Honduran president, issued just ahead of Honduras’ presidential elections, has raised suspicions about U.S. interference in the vote.

On November 28 — just two days before Honduras’ general elections — Trump ordered the release of Juan Orlando Hernández. The Honduran politician had previously been convicted in 2024 on charges of drug and weapons trafficking, including assisting in the smuggling of 400 tonnes of cocaine into the United States, and was sentenced to 45 years in prison and an $8 million fine.
A U.S. court had also accused him of receiving bribes from drug cartels.

Hernández is a member of Honduras’ National Party, which has enjoyed the support of Donald Trump. In the recent presidential election, the National Party faced a tight race against its rival from the Liberal Party.

After Trump announced the pardon, some Honduran politicians — including Hernández’s party rivals — accused the U.S. president of interference and attempting to influence the country’s election, an allegation that appears plausible given the timing of the pardon.

Honduras’ general election was held on November 30, and so far the National Party’s candidate (the party backed by Trump) is slightly ahead of his Liberal Party opponent.

Does “some drugs matter more than others,” Mr. Trump?

The U.S. president has pardoned a Honduran politician even as his threats against Caracas continue under the pretext of “fighting drug trafficking.” For months, he has deployed large numbers of troops and equipment around Venezuela and has ordered attacks on Venezuelan ships and boats. So far, around 83 civilians have been killed in these assaults.

Trump claims that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro himself plays a central role in trafficking. Yet while the U.S. accuses Venezuela of drug smuggling, official statistics from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) show that Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia are the world’s largest producers of cocaine.

According to U.S. data, countries such as Mexico and Colombia account for the highest volumes of drug transit into the United States, while Venezuela is described only as a “secondary transit route.”

Trump’s eyes on Venezuela’s black gold

Although Trump continually justifies his threatening actions under the pretext of “fighting drug trafficking,” some American politicians and media outlets believe the real motive behind these threats is Venezuela’s oil.

With the largest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela is one of the most strategically important regions globally. The country holds more than 310 billion barrels of confirmed reserves — more than Saudi Arabia and Canada.

This black gold has given Donald Trump a powerful incentive to kill two birds with one stone: remove one of the U.S.’s main regional adversaries, Nicolás Maduro, and install a preferred figure in power, thereby securing easier access to Venezuela’s oil.