Juan Orlando Hernandez returned to Honduras from the United States ahead of an August 3 court appearance on fraud and money laundering charges that remain active despite his U.S. pardon.
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has returned to Honduras, four years after his extradition to the United States and eight months after U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned him while he was serving a 45-year prison sentence for drug trafficking. Hernandez arrived on Sunday at Palmerola International Airport, where he was met by family members and dozens of National Party supporters. He is due in court on August 3 to face fraud and money laundering charges in Honduras tied to the Pandora Papers corruption investigation, which alleges that nearly $11 million in state funds was diverted to political campaigns between 2010 and 2013, including money allegedly used for his first presidential campaign. An arrest warrant was suspended in June, so he was not detained on arrival. Trump said in granting the pardon in December that Hernandez had not received a fair trial and had been set up by former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration. Activists say the suspended warrant raises doubts about whether the Honduran proceedings will result in meaningful accountability. Hernandez, who led Honduras from 2014 to 2022 and was once seen as a U.S. ally in the war on drugs, has denied wrongdoing.