Juan Orlando’s fraud case dismissed by Honduran judge!
Tegucigalpa, Sep 1 (EFE). –
A judge in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday dismissed the fraud and money laundering case against former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014–2022), who returned to Honduras in July after being pardoned in the United States by President Donald Trump, where he was serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking.
“A definitive dismissal has been issued for former President of the Republic Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado,” Supreme Court of Justice spokesperson Carlos Silva told reporters.
Silva emphasized that the parties to the proceedings have been notified of the judge’s decision and that, if any party disagrees, it may “file the appropriate appeal with the Court of Appeals within the same Organized Crime Circuit.”
The spokesperson for the Judiciary, Carlos Silva, told reporters that the former president “did not authorize” or “administer” those funds, which were disbursed by the government while he was presiding over Congress.
Adding that Hernández “did not experience an increase in net worth,” which is why a “definitive dismissal” was issued.
The case also involved several former officials and former President Porfirio Lobo (2010–2014), all of whom were also acquitted.
The case, known as Pandora II, began in 2023 and investigated the alleged embezzlement of approximately 10.8 million dollars between 2010 and 2013, when Hernández presided over the Honduran Parliament.
The funds were supposedly used to finance his election campaign.
The former president reiterated his innocence and maintained that the court proceedings have demonstrated the lack of evidence against him.
“I have appeared day after day when summoned by the judge, and with each passing day it becomes clearer than ever, as the prosecution’s own witnesses stated, that we found no trace of money that ever ended up in Juan Orlando’s hands,” he asserted.
Hernández served two consecutive terms as president of Honduras; his second term (2018–2022) violated the Constitution, which prohibits reelection under any circumstances.
A 2015 interpretation by Supreme Court Justices gave Hernández the green light to seek reelection in 2017, and he won the election amid multiple allegations of fraud by the opposition. EFE
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