Part 10/13:
This move is perplexing given Hernández’s documented involvement in establishing drug cartels and collaborating with Mexican traffickers, making him arguably one of the most culpable figures in transnational narcotics trade in the hemisphere. The pardon signals a contradictory stance: while the U.S. publicly condemns drug trafficking and funds efforts to combat narcotics, it also pardons a convicted trafficker if he has been friendly with current U.S. leadership.