Upon returning to the White House, the Republican granted the pardon. Liz Oyer, a pardon attorney under the Trump administration before he fired her, told the Washington Post that these two cases are a sign of «the erosion of a system where money and political influence weigh more and more». However, this list of names does not only include those convicted of drug trafficking. Henry Cuéllar The alleged political persecution by Biden was also the reason the president cited for last week pardoning Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuéllar, accused in May 2024 of accepting $600,000 in bribes from a Mexican bank. Cuéllar, a member of Congress for the Democratic party since 2005, openly criticized Biden's immigration policy and aligned with positions closer to those now defended by Trump. George Santos Last October, the president commuted the sentence of former New York Republican Congressman George Santos, sentenced to over seven years in prison for fraud and aggravated identity theft, due to the misuse of campaign funds for personal enjoyment. Trump described Santos as someone who is usually «a bit of a scoundrel» but said there are many scoundrels in the country and that does not mean they have to spend seven years in jail. Washington, Dec 9 (EFE). - The pardons to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández and Congressman Henry Cuéllar are the last two added to the long list of controversial presidential pardons by Donald Trump in the last year, which have called into question the use of these pardons for political affinity or for the lack of coherence in his anti-drug campaign. According to an analysis published this Monday by the Washington Post, the president has granted clemency to at least 10 people for drug-related crimes since the beginning of his second term, such as Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore drug boss Garnett Smith. Juan Orlando Hernández The most recent case is the full pardon for the former Honduran president, sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking charges, on the argument that his prosecution had been a «trap» set by the administration of former President Joe Biden. Critics have attacked Trump for considering it «hypocritical» to release a person accused of drug trafficking while increasing pressure in Latin America with his actions against the supposed «narco-gangs» linked to the Tren de Aragua or the Cartel of the Suns. Ross Ulbricht The creator of the illegal web marketplace Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, had been sentenced to life in prison in 2015 on charges of drug trafficking, conspiracy, and computer fraud. Santos is known for his controversial comments on corruption and migration and has accumulated various complaints during his career. David Gentile David Gentile, CEO of a private equity company sentenced to seven years in prison for securities fraud, had just entered prison when he also received clemency from the White House. The former owner of GPB Capital Holdings was sentenced for defrauding around $1.6 billion from more than 10,000 investors. Changpeng Zhao On October 23, Trump pardoned the co-founder of the Binance cryptocurrency platform, Changpeng Zhao, convicted of money laundering. The case was particularly relevant as, since the New Yorker's return to the White House, Binance has become an important supporter for the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, founded by the Trump family. Participants in the 2021 Capitol Attack On his first day of his second term, January 20, 2025, Trump pardoned all those convicted or awaiting sentence for the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, including those accused of sedition. To these controversial pardons are added cases such as that of Joseph Shwartz, an American magnate convicted of fraud who, according to the Washington Post, was set to pay nearly $1 million to a lobby in the hope of obtaining clemency.
