Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández expressed his gratitude on Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump after being pardoned on Monday following more than three years in a New York prison, where he had been sentenced in 2024 to 45 years for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.

Hernández thanked Trump on social media platform X, stating: “President Trump, thank you for listening and responding when it was most needed. You saw the injustice committed against me and my country and corrected it. Your support for Honduras, your leadership, and your timely decision meant everything to my freedom and my nation. You have my respect and gratitude forever.”

In his message, Hernández began by saying: “THANK GOD. All glory be to Him. I am a free man. I said it when I left my home, I said it when I was unjustly convicted, and I say it today as I regain my freedom. I am innocent.”

He also expressed deep appreciation to his family and friends who “never stopped fighting and praying” for him, while blaming, as Trump had, the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden for his conviction. Hernández described his trial as a manipulated process orchestrated by the Biden-Harris administration and the deep state, claiming there was no real evidence, only accusations from criminals seeking revenge.

Hernández was extradited to the U.S. in April 2022 and sentenced in June 2024. His wife, Ana García, told EFE that Hernández had written to Trump on October 28, his 57th birthday, requesting a pardon, which Trump granted. García added that the couple has not yet decided whether Hernández will return to Honduras, where he could face investigations for alleged corruption, according to Attorney General Johel Zelaya.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that polling stations will remain open an extra hour due to the high voter turnout in Honduras’ general elections this Sunday.

These elections—the twelfth since the country returned to constitutional order in 1980 after nearly two decades of military governments—will now run until 6:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT), the CNE said in a statement.

The extension may only be applied for the additional hour established in the Electoral Law, and polling stations may close only after the last voter already in line at closing time has cast their ballot, ensuring that all those waiting are able to participate, the CNE added.

More than six million of Honduras’ ten million inhabitants were called to the polls to elect the successor to leftist President Xiomara Castro, as well as 298 municipal mayors, 128 members of the national Congress, and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament.

The presidential race features Rixi Moncada, candidate of the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre); Nasry Asfura of the National Party, the main opposition force—publicly endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump—and Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, also running from the opposition.

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CEL

Before the extension was announced, the CNE had indicated it would release its first preliminary report around 9:00 p.m. local time (03:00 GMT) and a second one at 11:00 p.m. (05:00 GMT). Final results must be published within 30 days following the election.

The future of Honduras’ diplomatic relations with China—or a possible reestablishment of ties with Taiwan—will hinge on the results of the presidential election taking place this Sunday, November 30. The ruling left-wing party is seeking to remain in power, while conservative parties aim to return to government.

If the ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada of the Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) Party, secures victory, Honduras is expected to deepen its relationship with China. The country established formal diplomatic ties with Beijing in March 2023, cutting relations with Taiwan entirely under President Xiomara Castro.

However, the bilateral trade relationship with China has not yielded the expected benefits. Economic Development Minister Fredis Cerrato acknowledged that negotiating with Beijing has proven challenging. “We are proceeding with caution,” he said, referring to ongoing efforts to secure better conditions for Honduran exporters and business owners, who are demanding greater speed in technical agreements.

With Castro’s term ending in just two months, the long-anticipated free trade agreement with China has yet to be finalized. Despite this, Chinese companies have already secured multimillion-dollar contracts in infrastructure projects across the country, particularly in the energy sector.