Trump’s Endorsement Narrows Honduran Race as Conservatives Hold Tight Early Lead

Reyna Vega, 52, runs a two-table food stall in central Tegucigalpa where she prepares simple breakfasts of eggs, fried plantains with cream and refried beans with corn tortillas. Like many Hondurans, she said rising prices over the past four years shaped her choice at the ballot box: a vote for former Tegucigalpa mayor Nasry Asfura of the National Party, largely motivated by a desire to unseat the governing LIBRE party.

In the final days of the campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Asfura and warned that the LIBRE candidate would steer Honduras toward the model of Venezuela. That intervention became a campaign flashpoint, with many Hondurans saying it influenced undecided voters and tightened support around conservative alternatives.

With returns from roughly 57% of polling places reported by Honduras' rapid reporting system, preliminary tallies showed Asfura and Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla essentially level at about 39% each, with Asfura ahead by only 515 votes. National Electoral Council President Ana Paola Hall said the rapid reporting system had reached a pause and that the official count would continue; she asked for patience as another results platform appeared offline.

Analysts and campaign officials debated how decisive Trump’s remarks were. Juan Carlos Aguilar, director of the NGO More Just Society, said, "His comments played a transcendental role and made a drastic change between Salvador (Nasralla) and (Nasry) Asfura," arguing the intervention swayed undecided voters and those who had considered "loaning" votes to Nasralla. Fabricio Paz Munguía, a Nasralla supporter from San Pedro Sula, said Trump’s statements made people rethink what would be best for the country.

Asfura and Nasralla both released their own tallies amid the information gap but stopped short of declaring victory. Asfura said, "We're calm, the data are going to come out." Nasralla expressed confidence that outstanding votes from the northern regions, where he is stronger, could overtake Asfura’s narrow early edge.

For many voters, removing LIBRE was the overriding concern. Vega’s son, Eddy Xavier Vega, 32, said, "Either of the two (Asfura or Nasralla) is good; what we didn’t want was LIBRE." Although homicide rates fell and some economic indicators improved under current President Xiomara Castro, many voters said they felt life had seemed easier under former President Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party.

Trump’s role deepened when he announced plans to pardon Hernández, who is serving a 45-year sentence in the U.S. after being convicted for facilitating drug shipments to the United States. That pledge resonated with some voters: Jair Ávila, 20, voting for the first time, said the possible pardon influenced him because he remembered Hernández’s tenure as a time when basics were more affordable.

Some Hondurans also hoped Trump’s endorsement might translate into more lenient U.S. immigration enforcement for migrants from Honduras if a conservative candidate wins. Vega noted relatives in the United States send remittances and that, so far, none had been deported.

Election officials cautioned it could be days before an official winner is declared. LIBRE candidate Rixi Moncada trailed by about 20 percentage points in the early returns and had not conceded, urging supporters to remain prepared to contest the count until every ballot is tallied.