The Honduran government has issued an international arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, only days after his release from a United States federal prison.
Okay News reports that Attorney General Johel Antonio Zelaya directed the country’s investigative agency, the Agencia Técnica de Investigación Criminal, and Interpol to carry out the warrant. The move coincides with this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day and relates to Hernandez’s alleged involvement in money laundering and fraud under the Pandora II case.
In 2023, Hernandez and several former officials were charged with misappropriating millions of dollars in state funds for political campaigns. Zelaya also announced the arrest of María Villanueva Sánchez over irregularities during her tenure as head of DINAF, Honduras’ agency for child and family protection.
Last week, former U.S. President Donald Trump granted Hernandez a pardon, calling the former leader’s treatment under the Biden administration “harsh and unfair.” Hernandez expressed gratitude, saying Trump “defended justice” and upheld promises to stop the use of state power against political opponents.
Hernandez, who left office in 2022, was extradited to the U.S. where he was convicted on charges including drug trafficking and weapons offences, accused of turning Honduras into a “narco-state.” He received a 45-year prison sentence and an $8 million fine.
