#34 - Why Trump Pardoned a Narco President.
Update: 2025-12-19
Description
Why did Donald Trump pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras and a man convicted in a US court of trafficking massive quantities of cocaine?
This episode argues the answer is - the end of democracy.
Honduras became the testing ground for ZEDEs, private cities with no voting, no public courts, and no democratic accountability. These projects map directly onto the anti democracy ideas of tech philosopher Curtis Yarvin and were backed by powerful Silicon Valley figures, including Peter Thiel.
When Honduras dismantled the ZEDE system, investors sued the country for billions. Now follow the money, the ideology, and the political pipeline from Honduras to Washington, including Thiel’s backing of JD Vance and Trump’s role in keeping this experiment alive.
This is not about capitalism. It is about post democracy governance. And Honduras was the laboratory.
@michaelregilio
This episode argues the answer is - the end of democracy.
Honduras became the testing ground for ZEDEs, private cities with no voting, no public courts, and no democratic accountability. These projects map directly onto the anti democracy ideas of tech philosopher Curtis Yarvin and were backed by powerful Silicon Valley figures, including Peter Thiel.
When Honduras dismantled the ZEDE system, investors sued the country for billions. Now follow the money, the ideology, and the political pipeline from Honduras to Washington, including Thiel’s backing of JD Vance and Trump’s role in keeping this experiment alive.
This is not about capitalism. It is about post democracy governance. And Honduras was the laboratory.
@michaelregilio
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