Venezuela Targeted as a Major Drug Hub
Pardons Granted Amid Heavy Lobbying
Criticism Over "Inconsistent Drug Policy"
U.S. President Donald Trump, who declared a "war on drugs," has sparked controversy after it was revealed that he pardoned a large number of drug offenders.
According to Yonhap News, citing the Washington Post on the 9th, President Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of about 90 individuals convicted of drug-related crimes during his first term. In his second term, he has pardoned or commuted at least 10 more drug offenders.
Donald Trump, President of the United States, is speaking at a roundtable discussion at the White House in Washington DC on the 8th (local time). Photo by Reuters Yonhap News
Previously, the Trump administration highlighted the drug crisis in the United States, singled out Venezuela as a hub for illegal drug distribution, and imposed intense pressure on the country. Under President Trump's orders, the U.S. military conducted airstrikes in the Caribbean against vessels suspected of drug smuggling. More than 80 people were killed in the process.
The United States continues to exert military pressure, aiming to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and bring about regime change, under the pretext of stopping drug trafficking.
However, on the very first day of his re-inauguration in January, President Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illicit marketplace "Silk Road," known for facilitating large-scale drug transactions using Bitcoin. Ulbricht had been serving a life sentence since 2015.
On the 4th, a citizen in Honduras held a poster depicting former President Orlando Hernandez and U.S. President Donald Trump, protesting Trump's pardon of former President Hernandez. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
President Trump also approved the pardons of Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore's "drug kingpin" Garnett Gilbert Smith. Moreover, he recently added former Honduran President Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year sentence for smuggling over 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, to the list of those pardoned.
There are also criticisms that President Trump's actions are creating a lucrative market where vast sums are exchanged for lobbying. According to disclosed data, lobbyists paid companies $2.1 million this year alone to seek pardons and other administrative remedies-more than double the amount spent last year.
Some individuals seeking pardons have hired people close to the president. It is reported that they paid up to $1 million to have their cases presented.
Jeffrey Singer, a drug policy expert at the Cato Institute, a U.S. think tank, pointed out, "President Trump has shown inconsistent positions on overall drug policy," adding, "There is no coherence."
He further commented, "He pardons drug traffickers, while ordering that drug traffickers outside the United States be killed on the spot. By that logic, why are we wasting time arresting people in this country on drug trafficking charges?"
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