Topline
Honduran authorities on Monday issued an international arrest warrant for the country’s former president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump last month and released from a U.S. federal prison where he was serving a 45-year sentence on drug trafficking charges.
Former Honduras’ President Juan Orlando Hernandez was pardoned by President Donald Trump last month.
Associated Press
Key Facts
In a post on X, Honduran Attorney General Johel Zelaya wrote: “We have been torn apart by the tentacles of corruption and criminal networks that have profoundly marked the life of our country.”
Zelaya said this is why he has instructed Honduran law enforcement authorities and urged “international allies such as INTERPOL,” to execute the international warrant against Hernandez.
Zelaya said he is seeking Hernandez’s arrest for alleged money laundering and fraud in the so-called “Pandora” corruption case.
In the Pandora case, Honduran prosecutors alleged several lawmakers illegally funneled public funds into political campaigns—including Hernandez’s 2013 presidential campaign.
Hernandez was released from a federal prison in Virginia last week after being pardoned by Trump, but his present whereabouts are unknown.
An attorney for the former Honduran president dismissed the order as a “strictly political move” amid the country’s ongoing general elections.
What Do We Know About Hernandez’s Extradition And Arrest?
Hernandez, a member of his country’s conservative National Party, served as the president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. He was arrested shortly after leaving office and was extradited to the U.S. by his successor, Xiomara Castro, of the left-leaning LIBRE party, on drug trafficking charges. In 2024, the former Honduran leader was sentenced to 45 years in prison, and former Attorney General Merrick Garland said he “abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, and the people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences.” The DOJ said Hernández had abused his position to “facilitate the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S.,” and his coconspirators were armed with “machine guns and destructive devices, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers.”