A Honduran judge ruled that former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was pardoned last year of US drug trafficking charges by US President Donald Trump, can remain free while facing his corruption trial.

The former leader returned home on July 26, nearly eight months after Trump issued his shock pardon that overturned Hernandez's 45-year prison sentence.

Hernandez flew back to Honduras after the suspension of an arrest warrant tied to allegations that he embezzled US$2 million in public funds to finance his 2013 presidential campaign.

At a hearing on Monday where Hernandez was formally charged with money laundering and fraud, the presiding judge upheld the suspension of the arrest warrant.

Hernandez was also barred from leaving Honduras and his first hearing was set for August 12.

Trump pardoned Hernandez in November, just days before Honduras' presidential election.

He claimed Hernandez had been the victim of an unjust trial under former US President Joe Biden, though part of the criminal investigation was conducted during Trump's first term.

The pardon came as Trump threatened to cut US aid to Honduras unless conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, Hernandez's political ally, won the presidency.

Asfura narrowly won the election.

A federal court in New York sentenced Hernandez in June 2024 after convicting him on three counts of drugs and weapons charges.

Prosecutors accused him of using state security forces to help smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States while working in league with traffickers such as Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Hernandez has dismissed both the US case and the Honduran proceedings as "political persecution". Upon returning home, he vowed that he would not "bow his head".

"Today once again we face justice in the face of this onslaught," the former president said before the hearing.

Hernandez served two terms as president from 2014 to 2022. (AFP)



Edited by Altis Wong