Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, has walked free after President Donald Trump pardoned the man once characterised as the key figure in a drug trafficking scheme that flooded America with over 400 tonnes of cocaine.
Trump has said that Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison by a US court, is a victim of political persecution and has been 'treated very harshly and unfairly'.
The pardon has surprised some experts, given the seriousness of the crime and the administration's promised crackdown on illegal drugs flowing into the US.
Here is a look at Hernández's political career and crimes, and why Trump may have pardoned him.
400 tonnes of cocaine and a $1 million bribe from El Chapo
Hernández first ran for president of Honduras, a country of 10 million people, in 2013 as the candidate for the conservative National Party. He ran again in 2017, in an election marred by fraud allegations and violent protests.
Throughout his two terms, he maintained a cordial relationship with the US. Former President Barack Obama called him one of the 'excellent partners' on the migrant-children crisis, and Trump backed him as the winner of the disputed 2017 vote.
But Hernández's fortunes began to unravel in 2019 as US federal prosecutors accused him of accepting a $1 million bribe from notorious drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán for his first presidential campaign in exchange for protecting narcotics routes through Honduras.
The allegations surfaced in a separate case involving his brother, Juan Antonio 'Tony' Hernández, who was arrested in Miami in 2018 on charges of smuggling cocaine into the US. At the time, the then-president denied any involvement in his brother's crimes.
Tony Hernández was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.
But the end of his brother's trial marked only the beginning of the ex-president's legal troubles. Shortly after leaving office in 2022, he was arrested and extradited to the US on drug-trafficking and related weapons charges.
Hernández's federal trial lasted three weeks in 2024, with prosecutors arguing he was a central figure in a more than 18-year-long drug-trafficking scheme that funneled over 400 tonnes of cocaine into the US, equivalent to roughly 4.5 billion individual doses. 'The people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences,' said then-attorney general Merrick Garland.
Prosecutors detailed how Hernández abused office by shielding drug traffickers armed with machine guns and grenade launchers. In exchange, he received millions of dollars to fuel his political campaigns.
During sentencing, Hernández insisted he was a victim of 'political persecution'.
Trump: Hernández conviction was a 'Biden setup'
Trump announced the pardon on Friday via Truth Social, suggesting that according to 'many people that I greatly respect', Hernández had been unfairly treated by prosecutors. He also endorsed Tito Asfura for president of Honduras ahead of the election associated with Hernández's political party.
The announcement has raised discussions about the motivations behind pardoning a leader implicated in serious criminal activities while ostensibly promoting a campaign against drug trafficking.
Such a decision highlights the complexities and contradictions within US foreign policy, especially regarding Latin America and its ongoing struggles with drug-related violence and corruption.
