A Pardon and a Prosecution in New York Show Trump’s Personal Geopolitics

The New York Times•January 4, 2026•world

Key Points:

Two Latin American leaders, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, were charged in Manhattan with using state power to traffic large quantities of cocaine into the U.S.
Hernández was pardoned by President Trump last month, while Maduro was captured in a military raid and brought to the U.S. to face new narco-terrorism charges.
The contrasting outcomes highlight how the Trump administration has personalized federal justice to serve its geopolitical interests.
Trump expressed sympathy for Hernández, comparing his treatment to what he claims he experienced under the Biden administration and describing Hernández as unfairly persecuted.