Two days before the general elections in Honduras, US President Donald Trump is seeking to influence conservative candidate Nasri Titus A bird. Through a comment he posted on his social network, “Truth,” he stipulated financial support for the country if Asfoura wins the presidential elections. Otherwise, he wrote, he would withdraw any support. Not only that, he promised to pardon the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is serving time in a US prison after being sentenced to 45 years in prison for his ties to drug trafficking.
“I will grant a full and comprehensive pardon to former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who, according to many people I deeply respect, was treated with extreme cruelty and unfairness. This cannot be allowed, especially now, after the electoral victory of Tito Asvora, as Honduras is heading towards great political and financial success,” Trump confirmed in his message, which was published on Friday through his social network “Truth”.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, known as JOH, was President of Honduras between 2014 and 2022, for the conservative National Party. During that period he was a staunch ally of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking. But last year, in a two-week trial in a Manhattan courtroom, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison for associating for more than a decade with drug traffickers who paid him bribes to ensure more than 400 tons of cocaine reached the United States. Three years ago, his brother Juan Antonio Hernandez was sentenced to life imprisonment for the same crime. Manhattan prosecutors accused JOH of receiving $1 million from Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.
The political bombshell Trump dropped on Friday threatens to destabilize the campaign. Honduras will vote on Sunday to elect a president, mayors and representatives in the midst of a deep political crisis, with intense polarization and accusations of corruption and links to drug trafficking. The country’s president, Chiamara Castro, declared a controversial state of exception to avoid violence during the elections, as she justified it. The country witnesses frequent incidents of violence carried out by gangs linked to drug trafficking.
The presidential elections are very close, with maximum equality achieved between the candidates according to opinion polls. The elections are taking place in an atmosphere of tremendous tension, with accusations and insults being exchanged between the candidates.
“Yes Titus If Asfoura wins the presidency of Honduras, the United States will provide him with great support, because it has great confidence in him, his policies, and what he will do for the great people of Honduras. “If he does not win, the United States will not waste its money, because the wrong leader can only bring disastrous consequences for any country, regardless of its type,” he wrote on the platform he created to express his views. Washington has traditionally maintained its interest in the country due to its strategic position in Central America.
This is Trump’s second message in support of Asfoura in just 48 hours. Last Wednesday, he published another statement in the newspaper “Truth” in which he confirmed that he could work with the construction businessman and former mayor of Tegucigalpa to combat “drug trafficking.” The Republican president harshly attacked the other two candidates holding options, accusing them of being “communists,” even though they do not define themselves as such: leftist Free Party candidate and former Defense Minister Rexy Moncada; The television broadcaster is the candidate of the Liberal Party, Salvador Nasrallah.
The Asfoura Party has maintained a relationship with the US Republican Party since the presidency of Juan Orlando Hernandez, who assumed the presidency of the Central American country between 2014 and 2022. Hernandez is currently in a US prison where he is serving a 45-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and firearms crimes.
This is not the first time Trump has tried to influence the election. Last October, it offered millions in economic aid to Argentina linked to the victory of the Libertarian Party, Javier Miley, in the legislative elections. The United States offered Miley a financial rescue plan worth up to $40 billion to prevent the peso from devaluing and calm the markets. The support of the Oval Office tenant was crucial in turning the tide of the election, which was complicated for Milley.
Honduras has a complex political history. As the elections continued, accusations of irregularities arose. The country has traditionally been governed by conservative parties, but has experienced periods of reform and periods of left-wing government. In 2009, President Manuel Zalaya was ousted following a military coup.