A court in Honduras has dismissed charges of fraud and money laundering against former President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Judiciary spokesperson Carlos Silva announced the decision on Tuesday, stating that the evidence presented did not establish Hernandez’s participation in the events under investigation.
The charges were connected to a corruption investigation known as the “Pandora case.” Honduran prosecutors had alleged that from 2010 to 2013, officials diverted approximately $10.8 million in public funds from the agriculture ministry to finance political campaigns for the National Party. The case alleged that Hernandez, who served as president of the National Congress during part of that period, received about $2.3 million.
Following the court’s decision, Hernandez described the proceedings as political. “This chapter of political persecution has now ended,” he said in a statement. Hernandez asserted that the case against him “had no basis.”
The ruling follows Hernandez’s return to Honduras in July 2026. His return was preceded by a presidential pardon he received in the United States from President Donald Trump in December 2025.
Hernandez was extradited from Honduras to the U.S. in April 2022, three months after leaving office. In March 2024, a U.S. federal court convicted him on drug-trafficking and weapons charges. U.S. prosecutors had accused him of participating in a conspiracy to traffic narcotics into the United States, and he was sentenced to 45 years in prison. During his U.S. trial, prosecutors alleged he used his political positions to protect and assist drug traffickers in exchange for bribes.
When issuing the pardon, President Trump stated that Hernandez had been “treated very harshly and unfairly” by the previous U.S. administration.
Hernandez served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. The domestic arrest warrant related to the Pandora case was suspended prior to his return to the country.
Other political figures named in the Pandora case investigation have also had charges against them dropped, including former President Porfirio Lobo and former Finance Minister Wilfredo Cerrato.
