Former President Juan Orlando Hernández is again in Honduras. On July 26, simply over 4 years after he left his nation in handcuffs, extradited to the USA to face trial for drug trafficking prices, Hernández stepped off a personal flight on the Palmerola Worldwide Airport and into the arms of his household and a crowd of supporters.
Final December, amid a contentious presidential race in Honduras, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Hernández and erased the 45-year federal jail sentence he was serving following his conviction in 2024. He remained needed in Honduras on corruption prices, however in June, a choose suspended the home arrest warrant in that case, which had prevented him from returning house. Hernández has agreed to be arraigned this week on these prices, however he’s already plotting to win in court docket and regain affect throughout the nation’s political system.
The present president of Honduras, Nasry Asfura, belongs to the identical Nationwide Social gathering as Hernández, and rose to energy partly due to his help. Asfura gained final yr’s tightly contested election after an endorsement from Trump—one which got here in the identical social media put up saying Hernández’s pardon—and following a month-long, controversial vote-counting course of that left half the nation questioning whether or not he legitimately gained.
