U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a property league pursuing a U.S. onslaught connected Venezuela wherever President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago nine successful Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The Trump medication is facing renewed questions implicit its caller pardon of erstwhile Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez aft the U.S. captured Venezuelan person Nicolas Maduro connected Saturday and charged him with crimes related to cause trafficking.
Hernandez successful 2024 was convicted of conspiring with cause traffickers and utilizing his authorities presumption to assistance hundreds of tons of cocaine participate the United States. He was sentenced to 45 years successful prison.
President Donald Trump pardoned Hernandez successful November, saying successful a post to his Truth Social relationship that helium had been "treated precise harshly and unfairly."
Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, along with 4 different charges: cocaine importation conspiracy; possession of instrumentality guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to person instrumentality guns and destructive devices.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Sunday was pressed connected the evident contradiction of Hernandez' pardon present that the U.S. is seeking akin charges against Maduro, different caput of authorities of a South American federation with ties to the cause trade.
"I don't bash the pardon file, I'm not against it oregon for it, I didn't reappraisal the file, truthful I can't talk to you astir the dynamics that led the president to marque the determination that helium made," Rubio said connected NBC's "Meet the Press."
"He reviewed the file, helium went done the arguments successful it and helium felt that the erstwhile president of Honduras was treated precise unfairly by the erstwhile administration," Rubio said.
Rubio said that "whether you hold with that determination oregon not ... that doesn't mean you permission Maduro successful place."
"The reply to that, whether you person a occupation with it oregon not, is not to permission successful play idiosyncratic who has been indicted who hasn't adjacent faced American justness yet," Rubio said.
Read much CNBC authorities coverage
Trump's pardon of Hernandez was already nether aggravated scrutiny earlier Maduro's ouster. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking subordinate of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said successful a connection that the "hypocrisy underlying this determination is particularly glaring."
"This aforesaid president precocious pardoned erstwhile Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted successful a U.S. tribunal connected superior cause trafficking charges, including conspiring with narcotics traffickers portion successful office," Warner said. "Yet now, the medication claims that akin allegations warrant the usage of subject unit against different sovereign nation. You cannot credibly reason that cause trafficking charges request penetration successful 1 case, portion issuing a pardon successful another."
At a property league connected Saturday aft Maduro's capture, Trump was pressed connected the pardon. He said Hernandez was "persecuted precise unfairly."
"He was treated similar the Biden medication treated a antheral named Trump," Trump said, referring to his ain transgression prosecutions for allegedly hoarding classified documents and attempting to overturn the 2020 predetermination aft leaving bureau pursuing his archetypal word arsenic president.
Trump besides cited his endorsement of Nasry Asfura, the president-elect of Honduras, arsenic different crushed for the pardon.
"He's besides a enactment subordinate of the antheral who won, truthful evidently the radical liked what I did," Trump said. "And 1 of the reasons that was done is due to the fact that of the information that the enactment successful powerfulness felt precise powerfully that that antheral was treated precise badly."
Trump besides gestured astatine Rubio and different members of his nationalist information squad erstwhile explaining wherefore helium issued the pardon.
"I went to a batch of the radical lasting down me, and they felt that that antheral was persecuted and treated precise badly," helium said.
English (US) ·