Honduras’s presidential race has taken a sharp turn after centrist contender Salvador Nasralla accused United States President Donald Trump of meddling in the country’s election. Nasralla says Trump’s open support for conservative rival Nasry Asfura has tilted the playing field and may have cost him a clear lead.
The controversy began last week when Trump praised Asfura, 67, and dismissed Nasralla as a “borderline communist”. Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, Nasralla, 72, said the intervention landed like a blow at a critical moment. “It hurt me because I was winning by a much larger margin,” he said.
The race has been tight from the start, and Trump’s involvement has only deepened tensions around the vote. On Monday, the US president claimed without evidence that Honduras was attempting to manipulate the outcome after early, incomplete tallies showed the two candidates locked in what officials described as a technical tie. He warned on Truth Social that there would be “hell to pay” if the results were altered.
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This is not the first time Trump has waded into Honduran politics. He previously threatened to cut off aid if Asfura lost, and he issued a highly unusual pre-election pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted in the US on drug trafficking charges. The move stunned observers in Tegucigalpa and raised questions about Washington’s motivations.
By Thursday evening, officials said 87 percent of the ballots had been processed, though nearly a fifth of them showed inconsistencies and are undergoing further scrutiny. The electoral body has until December 30 to certify the final count.
Current figures place Asfura slightly ahead with 40.27 percent, while Nasralla stands at 39.38 percent. Analysts caution that the remaining ballots could still shift the race.
Nasralla has also posted claims of irregularities during the primaries and alleged attempts at tampering this week, though none of those accusations have been independently verified.
For now, Honduras remains on edge, watching a close contest shadowed by international influence and unresolved doubts about the vote’s integrity.