Trump-backed conservative Nasry Asfura wins Honduras election: Authorities

Trump-backed conservative Nasry Asfura wins Honduras election: Authorities

The Honduras election commission has reported that Nasry Asfura, a conservative candidate supported by US President Donald Trump, has won the contest’s highly contentious presidential elections.

More than 20 days after the vote, which was announced on Wednesday, are likely to have an impact on the Central American nation.

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Asfura won 40.3% of the vote, edging out center-right Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla, who received 39.5 percent, according to the electoral body, the CNE.

Asfura thanked the CNE on Wednesday in a brief social media post. I’m ready to rule in Honduras. He declared, “I will not fail you.”

Trump had heavily favored Asfura, criticizing Nasralla and Rixi Moncada, who ended up receiving less than 20% of the votes.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura and said Washington was looking forward to working with him.

In a social media post, Rubio wrote that “Honduras’ people have spoken and Nasry Asfura will be its next president.”

Rubio urged “all parties to respect the confirmed results” of the elections in a separate statement.

Juan Orlando Hernandez, a member of Asfura’s National Party, was released earlier this month after receiving a pardon in the US for drug trafficking.

Asfura is of Palestinian descent and was formerly mayor of Tegucigalpa in Honduras. However, his party is steadfastly Israel-friendly.

Gideon Saar, the foreign minister of Israel, told Asfura on Wednesday that he had spoken with her and that the two countries had agreed to “strengthen bilateral relations.”

In a statement, Saar said, “I sincerely wish the people of Honduras well, wish him success in his position, and invite him to Israel.” The State of Israel and the Jewish people have a long history of friendship in Honduras.

In violation of international law, Honduras became the only nation to move its embassy there in Israel to Jerusalem under Hernandez’ leadership in 2021. Asfura has also endorsed Trump and other left-wing figures in the Americas, including Javier Milei from Argentina.

Despite the fact that Hernandez, the president of the National Party, is a former drug trafficker, the Argentinian president praised Honduras’ election results on Wednesday as a victory against “narcosocialism.”

In a social media post, Milei wrote, “The Honduran people chose to end years of authoritarianism and decay” with courage.

We from Argentina celebrate the victory of freedom and reaffirm our support for democracy, the popular will, and the region’s institutions without restrictions.

For right-wing candidates in Latin America over the past year, Asfura’s victory is another victory. In 2025, El Salvador’s right-wing leader Nayib Bukele was ably defeated in the election of Chia and Bolivia’s ultraconservative presidents.

The “Pink Tide” – the influx of left-wing leaders who came to power in the area in the early 2020s – appears to have been reversed.

The rise of right-wing governments in the area coincides with the US’s pressure campaign against Venezuela’s left-wing leader Nicolas Maduro.

Source: Aljazeera

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