The Big Take
Erasing the Verdict: The Ongoing Shock of Trump’s Cocaine Kingpin Pardon
Donald Trump’s pardon of Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, toppled the capstone of one of the most ambitious narcotics investigations in the history of the Department of Justice.
Julián Arístides González was up before dawn, grinding the coffee beans he’d grown from seedlings in his front yard. His wife, Leslie Portillo, was already dressed, and his daughter, Giulliana, needed to stir soon. She was catching a ride with him to high school, and his rule was firm: on the road by 6:30, not a minute later.
Julián ran a shower in the upstairs bathroom. Leslie called to him from the hall: “I’m leaving!”