President Donald Trump on Friday expressed concern that Venezuela’s leadership will seek to illegally influence the outcome of the upcoming elections in Honduras to benefit its own country.
“Democracy is on trial in the coming Elections in the beautiful country of Honduras on November 30th,” the president said in a post to Truth Social. “Will [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?”
Trump urged Honduran voters against backing presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla in the elections, warning that the “borderline communist” is backed by Maduro. Instead of being “tricked,” voters should cast ballots for Nasry “Tito” Asfura, in the tight race to succeed President Xiomara Castro, Trump said.
The president’s message comes as his administration has increasingly targeted Maduro for fueling the drug industry in the United States. At Trump’s direction, the Pentagon has carried out over twenty lethal strikes on boats believed to be carrying drugs off Venezuela’s coast, killing dozens of alleged “narco-terrorists.” And the Trump administration has authorized the largest military buildup outside of Venezuela in decades, prompting growing speculation that the White House is eying measures to topple the Maduro regime or carry out land strikes targeting drug traffickers in the country.
Trump expressed worries Friday that Maduro could be seeking to take over Honduras to carry out his agenda, and touted Asfura, a National Party candidate, as the leader who could stand up to the Venezuelan president.
Asfura’s chief opponent is Rixi Moncada, “who says Fidel Castro is her idol,” Trump said, adding that “Normally, the smart people of Honduras would reject” her. But the president said the “Communists are trying to trick the people” by splitting the vote and running a third candidate, Nasralla. Nasralla is aligned with Honduras’ current president, Castro, who has been criticized by the Trump administration.
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“Nasralla…..helped Castro win. Then he resigned, and is now pretending to be an anti-Communist only for the purposes of splitting Asfura’s vote. The people of Honduras must not be tricked again. The only real friend of Freedom in Honduras is Tito Asfura. Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras. I cannot work with Moncada and the Communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for Freedom, and cannot be trusted,” Trump wrote.
Most polls ahead of the November elections in Honduras show a close race between Nasralla, Asfura, and Moncada, according to Reuters.
