Juan Orlando Hernandez stays free in corruption trial

A Honduran judge ruled on Monday that former president Juan Orlando Hernandez can remain free while he faces a corruption trial in Honduras.

Judiciary spokesman Carlos Silva said Hernandez was formally charged with money laundering and fraud at the hearing. Silva said the judge upheld the suspension of an arrest warrant, ordered Hernandez to give a written pledge that he would not flee, barred him from leaving Honduras and set his first hearing for August 12.

Hernandez returned to Honduras on July 26, nearly eight months after President Donald Trump pardoned him in the United States. The pardon overturned a 45-year prison sentence on US drug trafficking-related convictions.

Hernandez had flown back after the suspension of an arrest warrant linked to allegations that he embezzled $2 million in public funds to finance his 2013 presidential campaign.

Trump pardoned Hernandez in November, days before Honduras's presidential election, saying Hernandez had been the victim of an unjust trial under former US president Joe Biden. Part of the criminal investigation was conducted during Trump's first term.

A federal court in New York sentenced Hernandez in June 2024 after convicting him on three counts of drugs and weapons charges. US prosecutors accused him of using Honduran state security forces to help traffickers smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States.

Hernandez has dismissed both the US case and the Honduran proceedings as “political persecution.” Before Monday's hearing, he said: “Today once again we face justice in the face of this onslaught.”

Hernandez served as president from 2014 to 2022. He is also seeking to recover at least 130 assets that were seized when he was extradited to the United States.