Honduras’s Hernandez returns home after Trump pardon: How it happened

Nearly four years after being extradited to the United States for a drug-trafficking trial, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez returned home after a pardon by US President Donald Trump at the end of last year.Trump claimed the trial was a “set up” orchestrated by former President Joe Biden’s administration.Hernandez still faces corruption charges in Honduras but returned on Sunday after an arrest warrant against him was cancelled.Human rights activists and lawyers fear a trial on home soil, where his party holds the presidency, would be a sham.So why did Trump pardon and release the former president of Honduras despite abducting and arresting Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro on drug and gun charges in January?Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is greeted by family and friends after arriving at his home in Tegucigalpa following his return to Honduras on July 26, 2026 [Leonel Estrada/Reuters]Why did Hernandez return to Honduras?Hernandez was able to return after being pardoned by Trump, released from a US prison and then having an arrest warrant against him suspended last month.He arrived at Palmerola International Airport, where he was greeted by his family and...