Tegucigalpa (AFP) – A Honduran judge ruled on Monday that former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was pardoned last year of US drug trafficking charges by President Donald Trump, can remain free while facing his corruption trial. The former leader, known by his initials JOH, returned home on July 26, nearly eight months after Trump issued his shock pardon that overturned Hernandez’s 45-year prison sentence.
Hernandez flew back to Honduras after the suspension of an arrest warrant tied to allegations that he embezzled $2 million in public funds to finance his 2013 presidential campaign. At a hearing on Monday where Hernandez was formally charged with money laundering and fraud, the presiding judge upheld the suspension of the arrest warrant, while ordering the former president to provide a written pledge he would not flee, judiciary spokesman Carlos Silva told reporters. Hernandez was also barred from leaving Honduras, and his first hearing was set for August 12, Silva said.
Trump pardoned Hernandez in November, just days before Honduras’s presidential election. He claimed Hernandez had been the victim of an unjust trial under former US president Joe Biden, though part of the criminal investigation was conducted during Trump’s first term. The pardon came as Trump threatened to cut US aid to Honduras unless conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, Hernandez’s political ally, won the presidency. Asfura narrowly won the election amid opposition allegations of fraud.
A federal court in New York sentenced Hernandez in June 2024 after convicting him on three counts of drugs and weapons charges. Prosecutors accused him of using state security forces to help smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States while working in league with traffickers like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Hernandez has dismissed both the US case and the Honduran proceedings as “political persecution.” Upon returning home, he vowed that he would not “bow his head.”
“Today once again we face justice in the face of this onslaught,” the former president said before Monday’s hearing. Hernandez, who served two terms as president from 2014 to 2022 and whose political career has been dogged by corruption allegations, is also seeking to recover at least 130 assets that were seized when he was extradited to the United States. His return has polarized Hondurans, who have seen other defendants in the corruption case cleared of charges, including former president Porfirio Lobo (2010-2014), who allegedly authorized the usage of public funds.
© 2024 AFP
