{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/castro-meeks-introduce-resolution-condemning-trumps-pardon-of-notorious-drug-trafficker", "Castro, Meeks Introduce Resolution Condemning Trump\u2019s Pardon of Notorious Drug Trafficker", "2025-12-04", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Joaquin Castro", "C001091", "castro.house.gov", "castro", "https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a resolution condemning President Trump\u2019s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez, who was convicted and sentenced in an American court to 45 years in federal prison for trafficking drugs into the United States.\n\n\u201cWhile the Trump administration carries out its reckless military buildup and potential war crimes in the Western Hemisphere under the guise of preventing drugs from entering our country, Trump\u2019s pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez\u2014an actual, convicted narco-trafficker who flooded American communities with 400 tons of cocaine\u2014illustrates the hypocrisy and corruption that are hallmarks of this administration. It further demonstrates that the administration\u2019s real objective for its military buildup and lethal strikes is less about drugs and more about threatening a reckless and open-ended war with Venezuela\u2019s Nicolas Maduro.\n\n\u201cPresident Trump owes an explanation to the families impacted by Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s drug trafficking conspiracy, and to the American people, on why he pardoned someone who stated his goal to \u2018shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.\u2019 Our Congressional colleagues should join in condemning this lawlessness and scrutinizing Trump\u2019s corrupt ties to a growing list of pardoned individuals. But one thing is crystal clear: Trump is not acting for the benefit of Americans.\"\n\nA PDF of the resolution can be found here.\n\nOriginal cosponsors include every Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, including Representatives Dina Titus, Sara Jacobs, Greg Stanton, Jonathan Jackson, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/castro-meeks-introduce-resolution-condemning-trumps-pardon-of-notorious-drug-trafficker"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.557346899062395, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}