The Justice of Honduras ruled this Monday that former president Juan Orlando Hernández will face the case of money laundering and fraud for which he is accused in freedom, in an ordinary court and not before the Supreme Court as initially proposed.
The Criminal Court in Matters of Organized Crime, Environment, and Corruption issued “precautionary measures” to Hernández in a hearing, including the prohibition of leaving the country, but denied the Prosecutor’s request for the former president to be provisionally detained due to the “risk of flight.”
SEE HERE: Juan Orlando Hernández returns to Honduras to face Justice after pardon in the U.S.
Hernández returned on July 26 to Honduras, from where he was extradited in 2022 to the United States, where he was tried and sentenced in 2024 to 45 years in prison for crimes related to drug trafficking.
However, Hernández was pardoned on December 1, 2025, by the U.S. president, Donald Trump.
The Criminal Court in Matters of Organized Crime, Environment, and Corruption will be in charge of the case after today’s ruling declared “without merit” (rejection) the appeal filed last Friday by Hernández’s defense to keep the case in the Supreme Court, after the magistrate originally in charge declared himself incompetent to assume the case.
According to the judicial resolution, Hernández will face the process in freedom with a ban on leaving the country.
He will also have the care and supervision of his defense team, which will have to present a weekly report on his condition, and provide “sworn caution” (sworn promise).
The same court scheduled the initial hearing for next August 12 at 09:00 local time (15:00 GMT), when it will be determined if the former president will be tried for the crimes charged by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office).
MORE INFORMATION: Juan Orlando Hernández will return to Honduras in July after the arrest warrant was suspended
Dozens of supporters of the former president gathered today in front of the Supreme Court of Justice, where the Sixth Chamber of the Sentencing Court is located, enabled for the hearing due to space limitations of the Organized Crime Court, to show their support for Hernández.
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Hernández, 57, of fraud and money laundering in a case opened in 2023, related to the alleged diversion of about 10.8 million dollars to two foundations between 2010 and 2013, when the former president presided over the Parliament, funds that were supposedly used to finance his 2013 electoral campaign.
The former president Porfirio Lobo (2010-2014) also appears in this file, who obtained a definitive dismissal, as well as former deputies, businessmen, and individuals.
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