President Donald Trump's contrasting actions this week, jailing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on drug charges while pardoning a convicted trafficker, have exposed deep contradictions in US drug policy and provoked international outrage.
In a dramatic escalation of his so-called war on drugs, President Trump authorised a military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and transported him to New York to face federal narcotics charges. At the same time, Trump has granted clemency to high-profile convicted drug traffickers, including former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been serving a 45-year sentence for cocaine trafficking.
