Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was released from prison following a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Hernández was sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation that moved hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States.

Back in Honduras, Hernández's wife applauded his release.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday outside her home in Tegucigalpa, she thanked Trump for pardoning her husband and drew a parallel between the two men.

"Today the whole world realizes that, like they did with President Donald Trump, the same Southern District, the same prosecutor created a political case,” García said.

She said Hernández called her Monday evening to say he was in the office of the prison head and had been told he will be released.

García said Hernández is in an undisclosed location for his safety, but that he plans to address the Honduran people on Wednesday.

"My husband is the president who has done the most for Honduras in the fight against organized crime,” Garcia said.

Hernández maintained throughout that he was innocent and the victim of revenge by drug traffickers he had helped extradite to the United States.

The release of Hernández — a former U.S. ally whose conviction prosecutors said exposed the depth of cartel influence in Honduras — comes just days after the country’s presidential election.

It has been giving Hondurans a lot to talk about.

And many in Honduras still think highly of Hernández.

At an outdoor coffee shop in the capital, 58-year-old pharmacist Maritza Soriano said the former president was set up by the left.

Her friend Julio Cesar Aguilar, a 62 year old architect, agreed.

Aguilar said that if Hernández were to come back and run as candidate for the National party he would be president again.

"He had a vision for the country,” Aguilar said.

The pardon also unfolds against the backdrop of Trump’s aggressive counter-narcotics push that has triggered intense controversy across Latin America.

The Trump administration has carried out 21 known strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people.

AP video by Elmer Martínez