Written by Pol Hurtado Chade
Days before the Honduran presidential election, Tito Asfura was trailing third in the polls, until a single social media post changed the course of the race. He represented the far-right party of Honduras, the National Party of Honduras, and focused his campaign on job creation, decentralization, security, investment, health, and education. However, he was mainly criticized for alleged corruption and mismanagement of public funds during his tenure as mayor of Tegucigalpa, allegations that he strongly denies.
Then, on November 28, just two days before the election, Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. He threatened to cut U.S. aid to Honduras, which supports development, security, and health programs across the country, if the people did not elect Tito Asfura. He wrote, “If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad.” The U.S. provides Honduras with $193.5 million worth of economic, development, and security assistance each year. This instilled fear in many Hondurans who depended on USAID, pushing them to vote for Tito Asfura, a decision they likely would not have made otherwise.
Trump then pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, a member of the same party as Tito Asfura, who was convicted in 2024 of trafficking 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, earning him a 46-year sentence. This stands in sharp and somewhat hypocritical contrast to the “war” Trump claims to be waging against narco-traffickers allegedly coming from Venezuela.
Trump claimed he pardoned the former president because the trial and conviction were a “Biden administration setup,” a claim for which there is no evidence. However, many believe the decision was influenced by one of his advisers, Roger Stone, who reportedly convinced Trump it was simply Biden-era lawfare. Alternatively, the pardon may have been a demonstration of power directed at Hondurans. If he could pardon a convicted drug trafficker, he would not hesitate to cut aid to Honduras if the election did not go his way.
This was blatant intervention in a foreign election, which is a crime under international law. However, this is not the first time Trump has done this. It is part of his broader plan to help far-right parties win elections around the world. He has pursued this strategy by offering a $40 billion bailout package to Argentina and by imposing tariffs on Brazil to pressure the country into pardoning former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for conspiring to stay in power after losing the 2022 Brazilian election.
By using these tactics, Trump consolidates his power on the international stage and surrounds himself with loyal leaders around the world, allowing him to continue advancing his agenda beyond the borders of the United States.
