Nancy Pelosi blasts Trump's Maduro indictment after Hernández pardon: 'Entirely hypocritical'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday, January 3, accused President Donald Trump of hypocrisy over his administration’s indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on dr*g-related charges.

Pelosi pointed to Trump’s decision last year to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been convicted in the United States on similar charges.

Her remarks came hours after the US carried out strikes in Caracas and announced the capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The developments have intensified political debate in Washington over the legality, justification and scope of the US operation in Venezuela.

Nancy Pelosi invokes Hernández pardon to slam Maduro indictment 

Pelosi criticized Trump’s justification for pursuing charges against Maduro, arguing that it conflicted with his prior use of clemency for another global leader convicted of dr*g t******king offenses.

Writing on social platform X, Pelosi said, “If the president grounds his actions on the basis of d**g t****icking charges, it is entirely hypocritical in light of his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.’”

She added that Hernández “was convicted of the same crime by an American jury and Trump pardoned him.”

Trump granted clemency to Hernández in November after the former Honduran leader was convicted of collaborating with dr*g tra****kers for more than a decade.

At the time, Trump said that Hernández had been “treated very harshly and unfairly,” blaming the Biden administration for what he described as a “setup” in the prosecution.

Lawmakers seek briefings as Trump defends Venezuela operation 

Pelosi called for Congress to be formally briefed on the strikes and the administration’s broader plans in Venezuela.

She said lawmakers must be informed about “regime change in Venezuela, the objectives and extent of this operation, and how the Administration intends to prevent further regional fallout.”

She also questioned whether the administration had demonstrated an immediate threat to US national security.

“Venezuela is ruled by an illegitimate regime, but the Administration has not made the case that an urgent threat to America’s national security existed to justify the use of US military force,” Pelosi stated.

The California Democrat further criticized Trump for not seeking congressional authorization before launching the operation.

She accused the president of showing “flagrant disregard for the Article One war powers of Congress which is essential to our constitutional system of checks and balances.” 

Trump, speaking at a press conference from Mar-a-Lago, defended the operation and said the United States would “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”

He also said that the US would take control of Venezuela’s oil production, claiming the country’s oil industry had been “a bust, a total bust for a long period of time.”