Trump Has Granted Clemency To About 100 People Accused Of Drug-Related Crimes Despite Anti-Narco Rhetoric: Report

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to about 100 people accused of drug-related crimes despite his anti-drug rhetoric, which has justified a large military buildup in the Caribbean and tens of strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, according to a new report.

The Washington Post noted that the most high-profile people who received clemency are Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, as well as Baltimore drug kingpin Garnett Gilbert Smith.

The contrasting actions, the outlet added, have given ammunition to Democrats, who point at the discrepancy to question Trump. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine described the scenario last week on the floor. "How does this protect Americans from the flow of narcotics entering our country?" he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the claims, saying "President Trump has been quite clear in his defense of the United States homeland, to stop these illegal narcotics from coming to our borders, whether that's by land or by sea, and he's also made it quite clear that he wants to correct the wrongs of the weaponized Justice Department under the previous administration."

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, on her end, told the outlet that the "only pardons anyone should be critical of are from President Autopen, who pardoned and commuted sentences of violent criminals including child killers and mass murderers — and that's not to mention the proactive pardons he 'signed' for his family members like Hunter on his way out the door."

The pardoning of Juan Orlando Hernandez was also criticized by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who said on Sunday that "those dying as a result of missile strikes are poor fishermen, some of whom do short cocaine trips for narcos out of need," but those "who get parson are former presidents with strong ties with narco terrorism in Honduras and Colombia."

"The former, some, travel with kilos. The latter with hundreds of tons. The U.S. is getting its allies wrong. It can't be allied with narcos," Petro said.

He was making reference to Hernandez, who Trump defended after pardoning. Speaking to press aboard the Air Force One, Trump was asked why he would "pardon a notorious drug trafficker." "The people of Honduras really thought he was set up. He was the president of the country and they basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country. They said it was a Biden administration setup and I looked at the facts and I agreed with them," Trump claimed last week.