A former Honduran president convicted of helping to smuggle 400 tons of cocaine into the United States has left prison after being pardoned by President Donald Trump, his wife said Tuesday.

Juan Orlando Hernandez was released from a West Virginia prison on Monday and was "once again a free man," his wife announced on social media. He had been sentenced last year to more than four decades behind bars.

Trump's pardon -- issued as the US military carries out a controversial campaign against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America -- has provoked fierce criticism from his political opponents and bewilderment by some allies.

On Tuesday, Trump responded to the criticism by downplaying Hernandez's involvement in the drug trade.

"Well, he was the president, and they had some drugs being sold

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