Overview
- Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted in U.S. court and sentenced in 2024 to 45 years for helping move more than 400 tons of cocaine, was released on December 1 after a presidential pardon.
- Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the pardon, calling the U.S. drug war a “farce” and alleging U.S. complicity in the narcotics trade.
- The pardon landed during an expanded U.S. maritime campaign against suspected traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific that media reports link to more than 80 deaths since September.
- The White House defended the clemency as a rightful use of presidential authority intended to stop illicit drugs and to correct perceived Justice Department errors.
- Some Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis, questioned freeing Hernández while threatening military action over alleged narcotrafficking by Venezuela, and analysts suggested the move aligns with a hemispheric strategy outlined in November.