Hasenfus is a former United States Marine who helped fly weapons shipments on behalf of the U.S.
government to the right wing Contra death squads in Nicaragua.
He was the sole survivor after his plane was shot down by the Nicaraguan government in 1986, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for terrorism and other charges, but pardoned and released the same year.
The statements he made to the Sandinista government resulted in a controversy in the U.S.
government, after the Reagan administration denied any connection to him.