January 10, 2026: Honduras formally reactivates the treaty to strengthen the prosecution of criminal structures, despite discontent over the JOH case.
Impact on the fight against drug trafficking
Aspect | Impact Detail Judicial Cooperation | Guarantees that Honduran citizens linked to cartels will continue to be tried in the U.S. Bilateral Relations | The reactivation eases diplomatic tensions, although distrust over the pardon persists. National Security | Castro seeks to prevent criminal groups from using the lack of extradition as a legal shield.
The president's decision comes in a context of high political sensitivity in Honduras, where Hernández's figure remains polarizing.
Hernández had been extradited in 2022 and sentenced in June 2024 to 45 years in prison by a New York court for drug trafficking and possession of war weapons.
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"I state with absolute responsibility that it is a grave contradiction that the United States would pardon someone who was convicted for drug trafficking," Castro stated.
The measure restores the full validity of the judicial agreement that the president had suspended in August 2024, after denouncing interference and threats against the high command of her country's Armed Forces, learned the Argentine News Agency.
Castro instructed the Secretary of Foreign Relations to formally notify the U.S. diplomatic mission in Tegucigalpa of the revocation of the verbal notes that had terminated the agreement.
According to the head of state, this action seeks to reaffirm her administration's commitment to the fight against organized crime, highlighting that under her management, more than 52 extradition processes have already been carried out.
Criticisms of Juan Orlando Hernández's pardon
Despite the restoration of cooperation, the Honduran president expressed a resounding rejection of the pardon granted last December by the United States government to former president Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH).
By reactivating the treaty, Castro attempts to shield her security policy from international criticism, while maintaining a firm stance against what she considers inconsistencies in the application of justice by Washington.
The head of state warned that this type of judicial benefit for figures in the drug world "weakens and puts at risk joint efforts" to face a scourge that affects both North American society and the Central American peoples.
Timeline: From the Break to the Reactivation
August 2024: Xiomara Castro denounces the extradition treaty after criticism from the U.S. embassy regarding meetings between Honduran military officials and Venezuelan officials. December 2025: The U.S. Government...
