Honduras: Juan Orlando Hernández—Pardoned by Trump, charges dropped in Honduras

On September 2, a Honduran court dismissed the case against former President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) on charges of fraud and money laundering. The politician, a member of the right-wing conservative Partido Nacional, had originally been sentenced to 45 years in prison in the U.S. for drug trafficking but was later pardoned by U.S. President Trump and returned to Honduras at the end of July.

JOH was due to stand trial in a court in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on charges of fraud and money laundering related to the Pandora II case. The case involved the alleged irregular diversion of over $10 million between 2010 and 2013—that is, before his presidency (2014 to 2022). However, the trial was dismissed just a few days after it began. Even before it started, observers had warned that it would be a sham trial. With the dismissal of the case, the way is now clear for Hernández’s return to the political stage.