Overview
- A Honduran judge dismissed the Pandora I fraud and money‑laundering case against Juan Orlando Hernández on Tuesday, finding the evidence did not link him to authorization or management of the contested funds.
- UFERCO investigators had alleged more than 288 million lempiras were irregularly disbursed and that Hernández benefited by about 62 million lempiras, claims the judge said were not established in court.
- Hernández returned to Honduras in late July after President Trump pardoned him in December 2025 following a U.S. conviction and a 45‑year sentence for drug trafficking.
- Prosecutors asked the court to admit evidence and indict Hernández but were denied and he was granted definitive release; they retain the right to appeal the decision.
- The ruling follows a pattern of dropped charges against other senior officials and is likely to deepen public debate over judicial independence and the future of Honduras’s anti‑corruption prosecutions, with appeals and related Pandora investigations expected to be the next focal points.