Honduran Court Dismisses Charges Against Ex-President Hernandez After US Pardon

A Honduran court on December 10 formally dismissed charges against former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who returned to the country in July after receiving a US pardon for a drug trafficking-related sentence.

Hernandez had been accused of fraud and money laundering in a corruption case spanning from 2010 to 2013, before he took office as president. However, judicial spokesman Carlos Silva stated that Hernandez was not responsible for budget decisions at the time the irregularities occurred.

Speaking after the ruling, Hernandez called it a vindication and argued that the case was "baseless," brought for political purposes. He said: "This chapter of political persecution has ended. Those who orchestrated this case not only wanted to banish me from Honduras forever but were also determined to put my family on the streets."

Hernandez, often referred to by his initials JOH, served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. Although seen as an ally in the US-backed war on drugs, American prosecutors accused him of abusing his power to help drug traffickers move illicit substances and accepting bribes in exchange for political advancement. The US Justice Department once described him as "the center of one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world."

Hernandez was extradited to the United States in April 2022, convicted in 2024, and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Many Hondurans had celebrated the verdict as a rare case of a powerful official being held to account. However, after Trump returned to the White House in 2025, the US administration showed support for right-wing leaders in Latin America.

Ahead of Honduras's general election in November 2025, Trump pledged to pardon Hernandez and threatened to cut aid. On December 2, amid a vote count that stretched for weeks, Trump formally signed the pardon, arguing that Hernandez had been "treated very harshly and unfairly" under former President Joe Biden. Nasry Asfura, the National Party candidate (the same party as Hernandez), subsequently won the presidential race.

Despite the pardon in the US, Hernandez still faces domestic charges related to the corruption scandal known as Pandora. Prosecutors allege that he and several senior officials diverted about $10.8 million from the state budget to fund political campaigns, with Hernandez allegedly receiving roughly $2.3 million. An arrest warrant against him was suspended, allowing him to return to Honduras in July.

Analysts had expressed concerns that Trump's backing and National Party control of the government could turn the trial into a sham. The Honduran court on December 10 affirmed that the evidence "does not prove the defendant's involvement in the events under investigation." Several other politicians linked to the Pandora case, including former President Porfirio Lobo and former Finance Minister Wilfredo Cerrato, have also had charges dismissed previously.