U.S. Justice Department

The Justice Department has asked U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen to dismiss charges against Hernan López and Full Play Group in the FIFA TV‑rights case, with EDNY U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella saying the dismissal is sought “in the interests of justice.” The move follows a convoluted 2024 procedural history — jury convictions, Judge Chen’s subsequent acquittal and an appeals court’s reinstatement of the convictions — and the Solicitor General has urged the Supreme Court to hear López’s appeal, reverse the reinstatement and remand so Chen can dismiss the case.

President Trump granted a full pardon to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was serving at USP Hazelton after a U.S. conviction for conspiring to import more than 400 tons of cocaine (he had been sentenced to 45 years and was appealing); Hernández was released, Trump defended the move, and it drew bipartisan criticism. Honduras Attorney General Johel Zelaya ordered authorities and asked Interpol to execute a 2023 Supreme Court magistrate arrest order—triggered if Hernández were freed—accusing him in the "Pandora" scheme of fraud and money‑laundering tied to diversion of state funds to political parties; Hernández’s lawyer called the action political and his whereabouts after release remain unclear. The pardon, coming after Trump’s endorsement of National Party candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura, has overshadowed a tight Honduran presidential vote.