Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday criticized President Donald Trump for pardoning former honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.

Hernandez, who was Sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his role in helping drug traffickers move 400 tons of cocaine to the United States, he was released on Monday.

In a speech, Schumer called the president for hypocrisy amid the Trump administration’s current campaign against drug trafficking networks and their unprecedented military attacks on alleged drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean.

“We all know that Trump does a lot of hypocritical things (there is hypocrisy oozing out of the White House almost every day), but pardoning one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers is appalling, shameful and dangerous, even for Donald Trump,” Schumer said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump over his political agenda, as well as many of his policies.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump over his political agenda, as well as many of his policies.

fake images

The New York Democrat also called the move a “total mockery” of Trump’s “supposed desire to eradicate all drug trafficking.”

“You can’t have it both ways, Mr. President. You can’t talk too much about hunting down drug dealers and getting drugs off our streets, and then turn around and free a dangerous, convicted drug dealer,” Schumer said.

Trump announced his decision to pardon Hernandez in a Truth Social post on Friday.

“I will grant a Total and Complete Pardon to former President Juan Orlando Hernández who, according to many people whom I respect very much, has been treated very harshly and unfairly,” he wrote.

Then on Sunday, Trump avoided accountability for pardoning Hernandez and attempted to shift the blame to his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

“A lot of people in Honduras said it was a trap by Biden,” Trump told reporters. “I looked at the facts and agreed with them.”

Watch Schumer’s speech below.

.@SenSchumer on the destruction of drug ships and the release of the former Honduran president “You can’t have it both ways, Mr. President. You can’t talk about a big game of hunting down drug dealers and taking drugs off our streets and then turning around and freeing a dangerous convicted drug dealer.” pic.twitter.com/KkOdaGh47D

– CSPAN (@cspan) December 2, 2025

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.@SenSchumer on destroying drug boats and freeing former Honduran president “You can’t have it both ways, Mr. President. You can’t talk about big game hunting to hunt down drug traffickers and get drugs off our streets and then turn around and free a dangerous convicted drug trafficker.” pic.twitter.com/KkOdaGh47D

– CSPAN (@cspan) December 2, 2025