Here & Now Anytime Trump is targeting alleged drug boats. Why is he now pardoning a drug trafficker?
Dec 1, 2025
Juan Sebastián González, a former policy expert at the Biden administration's National Security Council, delves into the legal implications of Trump's decision to pardon drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernandez while simultaneously targeting drug boats. Franco Ordoñez, NPR's White House correspondent, reveals bipartisan concerns over potential war crimes linked to these strikes. Dr. Monica Gandhi from UCSF discusses the troubling absence of World AIDS Day commemoration and its impact on global HIV awareness and funding, raising alarms about the future of AIDS policy.
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Pardon Undermines Counter‑Narcotics Case
- Juan Sebastián González says pardoning Honduras' ex-president undermines the administration's counter-narcotics narrative.
- He highlights that Honduras, fueled by Hernandez, channels most cocaine into the U.S., so the pardon is contradictory.
Strikes May Violate International Law
- Juan Sebastián González calls the unilateral strikes legally questionable and possibly war crimes if survivors were targeted.
- He supports congressional oversight to investigate potential violations.
Naval Campaign Looks Like Regime Change
- González notes the deployment targets Venezuela though most cocaine flows through Colombia and Central America.
- He says the campaign 'walks, talks, and looks like a regime change operation' against Nicolás Maduro.