Honduran ex-president returns home after Trump pardon

TEGUCIGALPA, July 27 (AFP): 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.