00:00The third hearing for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, accused of money laundering, electoral fraud and defrauding the state,
00:09concluded this Wednesday.
00:11The proceedings will resume next week amidst the former leaders expressed dissatisfaction.
00:17He had expected greater cooperation from his party now in power following his return to the country.
00:23Gerardo Torres Zelaya reports from Tauci Galpa.
00:28Exactly one month has passed since former President Juan Orlando Hernández returned to Honduras,
00:34following a pardon granted on December 1, 2025, by U.S. President Donald Trump,
00:40who commuted a 45-year sentence imposed after a U.S. court found Hernández guilty of illegally trafficking over 400
00:48tons of cocaine.
00:49Judging by his statements, Hernández appears dissatisfied with the slow pace of the case still pending against him in Honduras,
00:57as well as the Attorney General's request that he be placed in pretrial retention.
01:07This hearing has concluded, and we have been informed that it will resume next Wednesday at 9 a.m.
01:15Fortunately, the presentation of evidence has begun,
01:21and one person has already testified,
01:26though, from our perspective, nothing relevant to our case was raised.
01:32In that sense, it seems the system is moving at a measured pace.
01:38While I would prefer greater speed,
01:40we understand that all parties want the opportunity to state their views.
01:46It is an adversarial process, as you know.
01:52Hernández, who returned to the country amidst a massive welcoming event,
01:56had initially called for all evidence against him to be dismissed
02:00based on the pardon granted in the United States.
02:03Although his own national party currently holds power in the country,
02:07it appears he is not receiving the level of cooperation he expected.
02:12This may due to a strategy driving more by media optics than legal considerations,
02:17as the majority of the public does not view Hernández's return
02:21or the prospect of his impunity, paper plea.
02:25In the case of Juan Orlando Hernández,
02:31Hondurans are no longer easily fooled.
02:35They do not buy into the victim mentality
02:37or the bravado Hernández brought back from the United States,
02:40portraying himself as a hero.
02:43We know he was convicted in the United States,
02:46not by a Honduran court.
02:49A pardon does not mean that investigations are undone
02:52or that the evidence leading to his conviction in the U.S. court is destroyed.
02:56It has no bearing on that.
02:58So he remains a convict in the eyes of God and the Honduran people.
03:03The trial against the former president involving charges of money laundering,
03:08electoral fraud, and defraud in the state will resume next week.
03:12According to evidence presented by the prosecution,
03:15Hernández used state funds to pay his 2013 election campaign
03:20while serving as president of the National Congress.
03:27As in any trial, the court decides on the admissibility of evidence,
03:31and the presentation of evidence is currently underway.
03:36There were rejections regarding evidence,
03:38specifically regarding the prosecution's submissions.
03:43But the defense's evidence, consisting of documents and a witness,
03:47has been admitted.
03:51As the former president stated,
03:53we have begun presenting the evidence and are following due process.
04:00Proceedings will continue as scheduled next Wednesday.
04:07Former president Hernández's demeanor has changed significantly
04:10since his return to the country
04:12and after spending a month facing one of the many trials pending
04:16against him in the Honduran justice system.
04:19Even if he is acquitted on this case,
04:21he must still answer for other charges of corruption
04:24and links to drug trafficking.
04:26Despite Trump's full pardon,
04:28Hernández still has a long road ahead
04:30before he can truly call himself a free man.
04:33Reporting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras,
04:35for Telesur in English, Gerardo Torres-Heraya.
