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Honduran police detained the country's former president on Tuesday.

Juan Orlando Hernandez was led away in handcuffs and chains from his home in the capital Tegucigalpa.

It follows a U.S. extradition request, with Hernandez wanted on drug and weapons charges.

His detention marks a dramatic fall from grace only weeks after he left power.

Video of his arrest was broadcast live on national TV as he taken away to a base nearby for police special forces.

Honduran security minister Ramon Sabillon supported the arrest.

A U.S. Embassy document, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, showed that U.S. authorities charged Hernandez with participating in a drug-trafficking scheme between 2004 and 2022.

The document alleged Hernandez was part of an operation to receive tonnes of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela, which were to be shipped onwards to the U.S.

Washington's request for extradition was in stark contrast to a period when the U.S. government saw Hernandez as a vital ally in volatile Central America during his eight years in power.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Hernandez posted a message on Twitter saying he had informed the police that he was "ready to collaborate."

His lawyer alleged his rights had been trampled as he had immunity as a member of a regional congress.

The U.S. State Department said its policy is not to comment on extradition requests.