Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vow
President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
What happened
Honduran presidential candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura of the conservative National Party took a narrow early lead in Sunday’s national elections, days after President Donald Trump endorsed him and criticized his two main rivals. On Friday, Trump said he would pardon the last Honduran president from the National Party, Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years in U.S. prison for facilitating the trafficking of 500 tons of cocaine through Honduras to the U.S.
Who said what
“Tito and I can work together to fight the narco-communists and provide the necessary aid to the Honduran people,” Trump said last Wednesday on social media. “If he doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad.” With 43% of polling stations reporting early today, Asfura had 41% of the votes, versus 40% for Salvador Nasralla of the conservative Liberal Party and 19% for Rixi Moncada of the ruling democratic socialist LIBRE party.
Trump told reporters Sunday night that he would pardon Hernández, convicted in New York last year after a trial that exposed bribes and the use of the Honduran military to protect traffickers, because “many of the people of Honduras, they said it was a Biden setup.” He told The New York Times on Saturday that “many friends” had asked him to pardon Hernández, and if his conviction stood, “you could do this to any president.” Hernández was “the leader of one of the largest criminal enterprises that has ever been subject to a conviction in U.S. courts,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday, and Trump’s “shocking” pardon suggests he “cares nothing about narcotrafficking.”
What next?
Honduras’ National Electoral Council was expected to announce an election winner today. Trump did not say when he would pardon Hernández.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 highly hypocritical cartoons about the Second AmendmentCartoons Artists take on Kyle Rittenhouse, the blame game, and more
-
‘Ghost students’ are stealing millions in student aidIn the Spotlight AI has enabled the scam to spread into community colleges around the country
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his health
In Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Does standing up to Trump help world leaders at home?Today’s Big Question Mark Carney’s approval ratings have ‘soared to new highs’ following his Davos speech but other world leaders may not benefit in the same way
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
