WASHINGTON — In a dramatic escalation of transatlantic tensions over corruption and extradition, Honduras' Attorney General Johel Antonio Zelaya announced Monday that he has issued an international arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was released from U.S. federal prison just days earlier following a controversial pardon by President Donald Trump. The move, timed to coincide with the eve of the International Day Against Corruption on December 9, signals Honduras' determination to pursue domestic charges against Hernández despite his freedom in the United States, potentially setting the stage for a high-stakes diplomatic standoff.
Zelaya, a key figure in President Xiomara Castro's leftist administration, made the announcement via a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, where he decried the "tentacles of corruption and by the criminal networks that have deeply marked the life of our country." In the statement, he directed the Agencia Técnica de Investigación Criminal (ATIC), Honduras' elite criminal investigation agency, to execute the warrant and urged state security forces along with international partners, including INTERPOL, to apprehend Hernández on charges of money laundering and fraud tied to the sprawling "Pandora II" corruption scandal. The warrant, originally issued by a Honduran Supreme Court magistrate on November 28, 2025—the same day Trump first signaled his intent to pardon Hernández—had languished amid the U.S. legal proceedings but was revived immediately after the ex-leader's release.
"Our commitment is to the truth and to justice, as I promised on my first day at the helm of this institution," Zelaya wrote, attaching a scanned copy of the judicial order to his post. The Pandora II case, an offshoot of the original 2022 Pandora investigation, alleges that Hernández and his associates siphoned at least $2.5 million in public funds through sham nongovernmental organizations, fictitious contracts, and front companies to bankroll his 2013 presidential campaign. Prosecutors claim the scheme implicated dozens of officials, including ministers and National Party allies, in a web of embezzlement that drained resources from public health and education during one of Honduras' most impoverished eras. Hernández, 57, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, though his legal team has dismissed the accusations as "baseless" and politically motivated by the ruling Libre Party.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of Hernández's recent liberation from the United States Penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia, where he had been serving a 45-year sentence imposed in June 2024 for narco-trafficking and firearms offenses. A Manhattan federal jury convicted him in March 2024 of conspiring to import over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. between 2004 and 2022, portraying him as the architect of a "narco-state" that weaponized Honduran institutions to shield cartel operations. U.S. prosecutors, led by the Southern District of New York, presented evidence from cooperating witnesses—including Hernández's own brother, former congressman Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernández, who is serving a life sentence for similar crimes—that the ex-president received millions in drug bribes to order military aircraft rerouted for smuggling flights and to sabotage interdiction efforts. Judge P. Kevin Castel, at sentencing, lambasted Hernández as a "two-faced politician" who feigned anti-drug zealotry while enabling traffickers, imposing an $8 million forfeiture alongside the prison term.
Trump's pardon, formalized on December 2, 2025, after a teasing social media post on November 28, has ignited bipartisan outrage in Washington and beyond. The president justified the clemency by claiming the conviction was a "Biden setup" and "political persecution," echoing a four-page letter from Hernández delivered via Trump's longtime advisor Roger Stone, which likened the ex-leader's plight to Trump's own legal battles. "I was asked by Honduras, many of the people of Honduras, they said it was a Biden setup," Trump told reporters, dismissing evidence from the trial as tainted by "drug traffickers and politicians." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the action as correcting an "egregious" overreach, though she offered no specifics on withheld exculpatory information.
Critics, spanning Democrats and some Republicans, decried the pardon as hypocritical amid Trump's aggressive anti-cartel rhetoric, including the launch of "Southern Spear," a multi-domain military operation targeting Venezuelan narco-trafficking. California Rep. Norma Torres warned in a letter to Trump that freeing Hernández "flies in the face of your stated aim to fight narco-trafficking," labeling him a "convicted terrorist." Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy questioned the logic on social media: "Why would we pardon [Hernández] and then go after Maduro for running drugs into the United States?" Mike Vigil, former DEA chief for international operations, called it a "charade based on lies and hypocrisy," noting parallels to unpardoned figures like Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. FactCheck.org debunked Trump's claims, affirming the prosecution's roots in indictments from his first term, including against Hernández's brother and police chief Juan Carlos "El Tigre" Bonilla.
Hernández's fall from grace traces to his 2014–2022 presidency, marked by U.S. alliance in anti-corruption pacts like the Alliance for Prosperity but marred by allegations of electoral fraud in 2017—when he ran for a constitutionally barred second term—and human rights abuses during crackdowns on protests. Extradited in April 2022 under Castro's orders, he maintained innocence, arguing trafficker testimonies were vengeful for his extradition policies. Upon release, Hernández surfaced in a cryptic video from an undisclosed location, thanking Trump and vowing a political comeback, while his wife, Ana García de Hernández, posted prayers of gratitude on social media.
The timing of Zelaya's warrant amplifies suspicions of political maneuvering. Honduras' November 30 presidential election saw conservative Nasry "Tito" Asfura—Hernández's National Party successor—leading a tight race against Libre's Rixi Moncada, with Castro's allies alleging fraud in a pending recount. Hernández's lawyer, Renato Stabile, branded the warrant "strictly political theater" by a "defeated" Libre to intimidate the opposition, noting Zelaya's nomination by Castro. Protests erupted in Tegucigalpa on December 4, with farmers decrying the pardon as U.S. interference, while National Party supporters rallied for Hernández's return.
Diplomatic ripples extend to U.S.-Honduras relations, strained by Trump's endorsement of Asfura and threats of aid cuts if Libre steals the vote, as voiced by Rep. Matt Gaetz. INTERPOL's role remains uncertain; while it can issue "red notices" for fugitives, enforcement relies on member states' cooperation, and the U.S. has no extradition treaty obligation for pardoned citizens on foreign warrants. Council on Foreign Relations fellow Will Freeman warned that the pardon "directly damages U.S. national interests," eroding credibility in hemispheric anti-corruption efforts.
Zelaya's post, which garnered over 50,000 views within hours, has fueled global discourse on impunity. As Hernández's whereabouts—rumored in Florida or Tegucigalpa—remain shrouded, the warrant underscores a philosophical clash: Trump's "America First" clemency versus Castro's vow to dismantle narco-elites. With elections unresolved and INTERPOL alerted, the hunt for the "narco-president" tests alliances from Washington to the World Court, where justice may yet demand accountability beyond borders.
