The Honduran judiciary rejected the prosecution’s request for the pretrial detention of former President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014–2022) and allowed him to mount his defense while at liberty in the Pandora II case, involving fraud and money laundering. In addition to receiving a historic conviction for drug trafficking, Hernández played a key role in the electoral coup in Honduras, when Donald Trump explicitly interfered in the elections and, after blackmailing the people, forced them to vote for the current right-wing President Nasry Asfura.On Monday, August 3, the Honduran judiciary ruled that the case against Hernández should be heard by a special tribunal instead of a regular judge, as his defense had demanded. Throughout the morning, the Tegucigalpa court debated which judge should take on the case. The defense invoked the status of former president and high-ranking official as established by the Constitution of the Republic, while the state argued that the case should be handled by a judge specializing in organized crime and corruption.The court rejected the defense’s argument and informed Hernández that he is no longer a high-ranking official and that the status of former president cannot be invoked in this type of case.The key to this decision is that the jurisdiction allowing a case to be heard before the Supreme Court of Justice applies only to officials currently in office. Upon the conclusion of his term in 2022, and following his extradition to the United States, Hernández lost that privilege, and his case was therefore transferred to the ordinary courts.The Criminal Court for Organized Crime, Environment, and Corruption took charge of the case and scheduled the initial hearing for Wednesday, August 12, at 9:00 a.m. local time, when a decision will be made on whether the former president will stand trial.The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office had requested the former president’s pretrial detention, but the defense succeeded in having that request dismissed, ensuring that Hernández’s trial will proceed while he remains out of prison.The court imposed precautionary measures provided for in Article 173 of the Penal Code: remaining under the supervision of his defense team, submitting a weekly report, and posting a sworn bond to comply with the criminal proceedings. The arrest warrant was immediately revoked.However, the defendant was given the authorization to leave the country provided he gives notice to the court, a decision that generated suspicion and criticism within the judiciary itself.Some critics warn that with this permission, Hernández could flee. However, the former president has declared on several occasions that he wants to face the Honduran justice system and remain in the country.Supreme Court of Justice spokesperson Carlos Silva justified the ruling by reviewing the documentation regarding the risk of flight submitted by the defense and noting that, based on risk assessments and prison conditions, “the ideal approach is to impose precautionary measures other than pretrial detention.”Return of Narco-President Juan Orlando Hernández Reignites Debate on Impunity in HondurasPandora II caseThe Pandora II case, opened in 2023, accuses Hernández, 57, of fraud and money laundering for the alleged diversion of approximately $10.8 million to two foundations between 2010 and 2013, when he was president of the Honduran Parliament.Those funds allegedly financed his 2013 election campaign. The case also includes former President Porfirio Lobo (2010–2014), who received a final dismissal of charges, as well as former lawmakers, business owners, and private individuals.The former president returned to Honduras on July 26, after being extradited in 2022 to the United States, where he was sentenced in 2024 to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking offenses. On December 1, 2025, he received a pardon from US President Donald Trump.Hernández arrived at the courthouse on Monday accompanied by family members and under heavy security provided by officers from the National Police and the Military Police of Public Order. In his statements, the defendant described the proceedings against him as political persecution by the “far left.” (Telesur)Translation: Orinoco TribuneOT/SC/SH