Ex-president arrested in Honduras as US requests extradition on drugs charges

• Juan Orlando Hernandez cuffed and taken away in Tegucigalpa
• Arrest marks spectacular fall for man who was once key US ally

Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez has been arrested, a day after the US Department of Justice requested his extradition over drug trafficking and weapons charges, culminating a spectacular fall from grace for a man who was once considered one of Washington's top allies in Central America.

On Tuesday afternoon Hernandez left his home in a wealthy neighborhood in the country's capital, Tegucigalpa, where he was cuffed at the hands and feet and provided a bullet-proof vest before being taken away in a police caravan to a special forces base. He will appear before a judge for his first hearing within 24 hours.

According to the extradition request submitted to Honduras, Hernandez was part of a violent drug-trafficking" conspiracy that trafficked roughly 500,000 kilos of cocaine since 2004.