The Trump administration's policy towards Latin America is defined by direct and illegal interference in electoral processes, harassment and threats through the massive military deployment in the Caribbean, the murder of boatmen using bombings, and other actions.
The pardon and release of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, sentenced by a U.S. court to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking, contrasts with recent statements from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who said the military operation that has killed at least 80 boatmen has only just begun.
«We've only just begun to attack narco ships and send narco terrorists to the bottom of the ocean because they have been poisoning the American people,» Hegseth said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
«We had a little pause because it's hard to find ships to attack right now, which is the whole point, right?»
The inconsistencies in the supposedly anti-narcotics actions and the illegal and unjustified interference in the internal politics of Latin American countries raise suspicions about the true intentions of U.S. foreign policy.
«Deterrence has to be important,» he added.
This week, a bipartisan U.S. congressional commission was established to investigate Hegseth's actions and responsibilities for possible war crimes when he ordered the execution of surviving boatmen after an initial bombing.
The Trump plan to combat the drug trade moves from clumsiness and inconsistency to suspicion.
Threats against Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro, whom the administration seeks to portray as the leader of a drug cartel—an existence denied by major regional security organizations that have been fighting drug trafficking and organized crime for decades—clash directly with the decision to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted by U.S. authorities who sought his extradition in 2022.
The U.S. attorney's office implicated Hernández and his brother, as well as other criminals, in the entry of nearly 500 tons of drugs into the U.S. and secured a 45-year sentence based on evidence.
This is not a minor case or a possible political persecution, but a prisoner convicted by U.S. courts.
A New York Times report on Tuesday details the case, leaving doubt as to how the American public will react to such an inconsistency that casts doubt on the veracity of the government's stated intentions, while also jeopardizing both the military deployment in the Caribbean and the fight against the drug trade itself.
Former President Zelaya denounces interference
Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009), coordinator general of the Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) party, accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of «foreign interference» in Honduras' electoral process following the pardon for former President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) and messages of support for a candidate in the ongoing Central American country's election, according to Xinhua news agency.
On his social media account X, Zelaya stated that the pardon for Hernández constitutes an «electoral blow» promoted by «the desperate bipartisanship» of Honduras against Libre's presidential candidate, Rixi Moncada, whom he described as «impeccable, honest, sensitive, and capable.»
Zelaya criticized Trump's support for Asfura, which he called a «shameful, threatening, unfair, and infamous foreign intervention.»
Libre, he added, has faced «coups d'état, massive frauds, political assassinations, and persecution,» assuring that such actions will not intimidate the organization, Xinhua reports.
Venezuela
Meanwhile, after a phone call last week with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in which he was told to leave his country, Trump moved to suggest imminent military action by blocking Venezuelan airspace.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 21% of respondents said they backed the use of U.S. military forces to oust Maduro, while a slightly larger group—31%—said they would support a U.S. effort to get rid of him through non-military means.
Additionally, only 35% of respondents said they supported the use of military force in Venezuela to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
