Honduran authorities have issued an arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernández, just days after he was freed from a U.S. federal prison following a pardon granted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Attorney General Johel Antonio Zelaya Alvarez announced on X on Monday that he had asked national agencies and Interpol to detain Hernández on charges of money laundering and fraud.
“We have been deeply harmed by corruption and criminal networks that have shaped our country’s history,” Zelaya said, sharing a photo of the Supreme Court’s arrest order. The document was dated November 28—the same day Trump revealed his intention to pardon Hernández, a move that sparked backlash in both Honduras and the United States.
Hernández, who led Honduras from 2014 to 2022, had been sentenced last year to 45 years in a U.S. federal prison and ordered to pay $8 million for drug trafficking-related offenses.
The new Honduran charges stem from the “Pandora II” anti-corruption probe, which alleges that Hernández diverted roughly $2.4 million in illicit kickbacks from public contracts to finance his 2013 presidential campaign.
His lawyer, Renato Stabile, dismissed the charges as a politically motivated attack by the ruling Libre party, calling the warrant “a desperate piece of political theatre” and insisting the allegations are baseless.
Luis Santos, head of Honduras’ Specialized Unit against Corruption Crimes, recently confirmed that Hernández has long faced an open Supreme Court case involving money laundering and fraud. He also noted that an international arrest alert has been active with Interpol since September 2023. Santos added that if Hernández does not return voluntarily, Honduras will request his extradition from the U.S.
Trump formally pardoned Hernández on December 3, describing the prosecution as a “Biden horrible witch hunt.” The decision drew criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who questioned pardoning someone previously convicted of facilitating the transport of large quantities of cocaine toward the U.S.
U.S. prosecutors had accused Hernández of partnering with drug cartels during his presidency, allegedly receiving millions in bribes to bolster his political power—claims he denies. Hernández maintains he was targeted by criminals seeking revenge and has insisted the U.S. trial was unfair.
After his release, Hernández thanked Trump on X for “having the courage to defend justice when a weaponized system refused to acknowledge the truth.”
0 Comments