Honduran Attorney General Johel Antonio Zelaya announced late Monday in an X post that he has requested an Interpol “red notice” against former president Juan Orlando Hernández, less than a week after a U.S. pardon freed him from a 45-year narcotics sentence.
The warrant, dated 28 November but revealed on International Anti-Corruption Day, cites money-laundering and fraud linked to the so-called Pandora Case, in which prosecutors say public money was funnelled through private foundations into Hernández’s 2013 campaign. Investigators peg the diverted funds at more than US-$12 m.
Hernández’s current location is unknown; his lawyer, Renato Stabile, called the timing “a strictly political move” aimed at helping the ruling Libre Party, whose presidential candidate trails in the still-uncalled 30 November election. With 97 per cent of ballots counted, National Party contender Nasry “Tito” Asfura — allied with Hernández — leads by about 42,000 votes.
Hemos sido lacerados por los tentáculos de la corrupción y por las redes criminales que han marcado profundamente la vida de nuestro país. Es por ello que en el marco del Día Internacional Contra la Corrupción que se conmemora mañana 9 de diciembre, informo al pueblo hondureño… pic.twitter.com/8V4cpyrKq2
— Johel Antonio Zelaya Alvarez (@jaza_hn) December 8, 2025President Donald Trump pardoned Hernández on 1 December, describing the conviction as a Biden-era “setup” and praising his “Make Honduras Great Again” tweet. The decision ended a New York federal sentence for conspiring to import cocaine and possessing machine guns, offences prosecutors said made Hernández the linchpin of “one of the largest and most violent trafficking conspiracies in the world.”
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed the 45-year term, labelled him “a two-faced politician hungry for power.” Evidence at trial included testimony that he accepted US-$1 million from Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Honduran investigators insist the domestic case is separate from the U.S. drug conviction. The Supreme Court justice handling the Pandora probe asked Interpol weeks ago to detain Hernández “immediately,” even if U.S. authorities released him.
A spokesperson for Zelaya said Tegucigalpa will pursue extradition once the former president’s whereabouts are confirmed. Interpol has yet to post the notice publicly.