Honduran ex-president returns home after Trump pardon

Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez -- who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking until President Donald Trump pardoned him last year -- returned to his home country on Sunday.

Hernandez arrived on a private flight at Palmerola Airport near the capital Tegucigalpa and was greeted by his family and supporters, AFP journalists observed.

At a gathering with hundreds of supporters, Hernandez thanked Trump for the pardon.

"The most well-informed president in the world said: 'I reviewed it -- my team and I reviewed it in detail -- and a tremendous injustice has been committed here; it is a witch hunt, it is the use of the justice system as a political weapon,'" Hernandez said.

He is due to appear in court on August 3 to face fraud and money-laundering charges, which he denies, claiming to be the continued victim of "persecution."

He is accused of diverting $2 million in public funds to finance his first presidential campaign.

A judge suspended an arrest warrant against him after he agreed to appear voluntarily.

Hernandez led the Central American nation from 2014 to 2022, but was extradited shortly after leaving office by his left-leaning successor, Xiomara Castro, to face US drug trafficking charges.

A US court found him guilty in 2024 of having helped smuggle hundreds of tons of Colombian-produced cocaine into the United States in alliance with drug lords including Mexico's notorious Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

But in a surprise move just days before Honduras's presidential election last year, Trump pardoned Hernandez.

The US president also threatened to withhold aid to the country if Hernandez's ally and fellow conservative Nasry Asfura did not win.

Trump's intervention sparked outcry in Honduras and claims by Castro and her allies of foreign interference in the election, which was ultimately won by Asfura.

The pardon also sparked accusations of hypocrisy against Trump, as he had recently launched his major military campaign against drug traffickers in Latin America, striking boats alleged to be cartel-affiliated.

Upon granting the pardon last year, Trump claimed -- without evidence -- that Hernandez was "set up" by the administration of former US president Joe Biden.

"We are very happy and very excited" to welcome him back, said Eva Amador, 56, a supporter of the former president, as she held a banner on Sunday with a message thanking Trump.

Hernandez previously said he was returning "without any electoral ambitions."

His re-election in 2017 was mired by controversy, first over a Supreme Court decision which paved the way for him to serve a consecutive terms despite a constitutional ban, and then widespread claims of irregularities in the vote.

Following protests over the vote, Hernandez ordered a crackdown that left around thirty people dead.

"His return with complete impunity and without punishment for those crimes is a tremendous slap in the face to the victims," legal analyst Joaquin Mejia told AFP.