US president Donald Trump on Friday intervened in Honduras' politics by pardoning former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, just days before the country votes for a new president, and warned that US support to the country could be cut if his preferred candidate loses.
Hernandez was convicted in a US court last year for drug trafficking and given a 45-year sentence. He governed Honduras from 2014 to 2022 and was accused by US prosecutors of helping move nearly 400 tonnes of cocaine into the United States. He was extradited soon after leaving office, when the current president, Xiomara Castro, took power.
Trump’s announcement came through a social media post backing Nasry Asfura, the candidate from Hernandez’s right-wing party. Trump had already endorsed Asfura, but this time he went further, suggesting that future US aid depends on Asfura winning Sunday’s election.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote, "If he doesn't win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is." He issued a similar warning before Argentina’s election last month.
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Asfura, a 67-year-old construction businessman and former mayor of Tegucigalpa, is in a close three-way race against leftist lawyer Rixi Moncada and right-wing TV host Salvador Nasralla.
Trump accused Nasralla, 72, of acting as a spoiler who would split the right-wing vote. He pointed out that Nasralla previously served as Castro’s vice president before resigning, and claimed he is now “pretending” to be anti-Communist.
Trump also criticised Moncada, calling her a “communist” and claiming her win would benefit Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and “his Narcoterrorists.”
The decision to pardon Hernández comes at a time when Washington is carrying out a large anti-drug operation in Latin America, where more than 80 people have been killed in strikes in international waters.
A New York jury convicted Hernandez in March 2024 for helping move cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela into the United States since 2004, years before he became president. After his sentencing, former US attorney general Merrick Garland said Hernandez had abused his office to support a major drug-trafficking conspiracy.
In his post on Friday, Trump said Hernández had been treated “very harshly and unfairly,” but did not explain further.
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