The release of controversial leaked audio recordings exposed a dangerous plot where transnational economic and political power prevails over the popular will. Honduras now faces the urgent need to investigate these leaks and prevent Juan Orlando Hernández’s return to consolidate a dictatorship financed by the imperial interests of the US and “Israel.”
By Diario Red – Apr 29, 2026
In the late 1990s, Juan Orlando Hernández was elected deputy to Honduras’ National Congress under the banner of the National Party. For over a decade, he built legislative influence, control of internal party networks, and alliances with business and security sectors.
His presidency was inaugurated in 2014 with a platform promising a frontal assault on organized crime and drug trafficking. At the time, Honduras was one of the most violent countries in the world, with homicide rates exceeding 80 per 100,000 inhabitants. As president of Congress, Hernández had promoted the armed forces’ participation in policing and the creation of structures such as the Military Police of Public Order.
BREAKING Leaked audios from narco dictator Juan Orlando Hernandez reveal Washington’s plan to destabilize the governments of Mexico and Colombia.
Here’s him telling Asfura, Hondura’s current President, how they set up a disinformation strategy coordinated by Washington and… pic.twitter.com/En9nUc8Yxx
— Fiorella Isabel (@FiorellaIsabelM) April 30, 2026
However, the reality of his administration was a progressive concentration of power, including influence over the judiciary and political control of Congress. This was compounded by countless human rights violations associated with his security strategy. Human Rights Watch’s 2017 World Report documented 21 murders of journalists in two years, the removal of 29 judges, and the suspension of another 28 without clear criteria.
In 2015, the Supreme Court, controlled by Hernández, ruled that the ban on reelection was inapplicable. Two years later, he ran in an election marred by serious irregularities. The subsequent post-election crisis led to mass protests, curfews, and repression. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) documented deaths, arbitrary detentions, disproportionate use of force, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The IACHR went so far as to describe Honduras as “one of the most dangerous countries for human rights defenders.”
The arrest of his brother, Tony Hernández, marked a definitive turning point. In 2019, Tony Hernández was found guilty in the US of large-scale cocaine trafficking and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2021. During the trial, prosecutors claimed drug trafficking networks had bribed Honduran politicians and directly named Juan Orlando Hernández, who allegedly received $1 million from Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
The former mayor of El Paraíso, Copán, Amílcar Alexander Ardón Soriano, claimed to have witnessed a meeting between Tony Hernández and “El Chapo.” There, the money for the reelection campaign was handed over. He also stated that the former president asked him to bribe three members of Congress.
Hernández was subsequently included on the US list of “corrupt and anti-democratic actors,” and his visa was suspended. After leaving power in January 2022, he was arrested and extradited to New York to face trial for facilitating the shipment of more than 400 tons of cocaine to the US.
In March 2024, the former president was sentenced to 45 years in prison. The prosecution argued that Hernández used the state apparatus to facilitate these drug trafficking operations with the objective of “flooding the US with cocaine.” They maintained that under his administration, Honduras had a system where traffickers could operate with protection from the highest levels of government. According to the indictment, millions of dollars in bribes financed political campaigns and ensured institutional control.
Hernández denied all accusations, claiming to be the victim of a setup by Joe Biden’s government in a rigged trial. However, Donald Trump’s victory in November 2024 changed his fortunes. The Republican granted him a presidential pardon in December 2025, sending a direct message to the Honduran political elite following Nasry Asfura’s contested victory. In April 2026, a US appeals court overturned the 45-year sentence, leading Hernández to declare the decision a “complete wipe of the slate.”
Today, thanks to leaked audio recordings published exclusively by Canal Red and Hondurasgate, it has been revealed that “Israel” paid for the pardon and that Trump is facilitating Hernández’s return to the presidency. This move appears to be aimed at turning Honduras into a geopolitical control enclave for the continent.
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The release of controversial leaked audio recordings exposed a dangerous plot where transnational economic and political power prevails over the popular will. Honduras now faces the urgent need to investigate these leaks and prevent Juan Orlando Hernández’s return to consolidate a dictatorship financed by the imperial interests of the US and “Israel.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
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