Trump promises to talk to the former President who was found guilty of drug trafficking as the country’s votes

Two conservative opponents are tied for the lead in the race for President of Honduras, with votes from 55 percent of polling stations counted early Monday, according to preliminary and partial results.

The vote came just days after US President Donald Trump intervened in a close race by endorsing one of those candidates and announcing that he would pardon the former president.

The National Electoral Council said NASRY (Tito) Asfura of the National Party had 40 percent of the votes in the first count, while Salvador Nasralla, held 39.78 percent. Rixi Mocada of the Democratic Socialioning libre, or freedom and Re-Foundation Party, followed with 19.49 percent.

Both Asfura and Nasralla say it is still early in the trial and resist declaring victory. After the initial excitement at the party’s campaign headquarters, the streets of the capital, Tegucigalpa, were mostly quiet on Sunday night as the count slowly grew.

Asfura, the 67-year-old mayor of Tegucigalpa Who Trump approves ofhe ran as a strong politician, targeting his favorite infrastructure projects.

Nasralla, a 72-year-old sportsman, has spread with various groups over the years and joined the ticket of current President Xiomara Castro four years ago.

As early results came in late Sunday, Nasralla said the race was still very close to being called. He expressed confidence that the remaining votes will favor him.

Nasralla tried to use Trump’s interference to strengthen his foreign policy, even though it was his fourth bid for the Presidency.

“I do not respond to black pacts, or suspicious networks or criminals who killed our people,” he said.

‘Horror’ is pardoned

Trump on Friday evoked Asfura, saying that he would work with him to deal with drug trafficking and that “if he does not win, the United States will not throw good money after bad,” without understanding.

“I can’t work with Moncada and the Communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for freedom, and he can’t be trusted,” Trump sent in social truth.

Trump also shocked by announcing that he would pardon former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had one year on the bank of 45 prisons for helping drug traffickers transport tons of CACAIET.

Prosecutors say Hernández Ez used the Honduran military and police to smuggle drugs across the country, get millions of dollars and fuel his rise to the presidency.

But Trump criticized the prosecution of Hernández, the broadest case that covers the former President’s brother, saying people he respects have told Hernández, who had a national organization, “he was mistreated and he’s been mistreated.”

The move angered Democrats in Washington as Trump used the alleged flow of drugs into the US as a legal basis for a series of strikes near Venezuela and the Pacific Rim, which have killed more than 80 people since September 2.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia called Trump’s decision to pardon Hernández “Horrifying.”

“He was the leader of one of the largest criminal enterprises ever convicted by US courts, and he is less than one year into his sentence, President Trump is pardoning him,” Kaine said on CBS Face the nation.

Voters make noises by not accepting the result

Oliver Erazo, Professor of Law at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, said he did not expect Trump’s intervention to have a significant impact on voters.

“The social and collective behavior of the electorate was defined in the last week or two, especially when it comes to the National Party and the Freedom Party,” he said.

Honduras, where six out of 10 citizens live in poverty, met with a combination of figures from the military, politicians and businessmen to overthrow Manuel Zelaya, the current President’s husband.

In 2017, the first administration of the Trump administration raised the election of Hernández, as the organization of American states was called for redo due to widespread allegations of fraud. Hernández’s bid for a second term is controversial even as he wins a Supreme Court ruling to circumvent the order of consecutive terms from the country’s Constitution.

The period between the end of the election and the opening was marked by widespread protests.

In 2021, Hondurans overwhelmingly voted for XIOMARA Castro, ending more than a century of rule by nationalist and evil parties.

The last stages of this campaign were dominated by the three leading trade in election preparations, Honduran and foreign leaders who should warn that they can postpone accepting the result.

Moncada, a follower of Mantu who is now a follower of Castro, said in the days leading up to the election that he would not accept the first ballots because he believed there was a conspiracy to use them.

He said he would not comment on Munum Councial’s preliminary results until Monday.

At the time, there was concern among the opposition that Live Libre would use government levers to give moncada an advantage over the competition.

Christopher Landau, the Deputy Secretary of State, warned in a statement when he ran that Washington would respond “immediately with anyone who abuses the integrity of the democratic process in Honduras.”

Melany Martínez, a 30-year-old nurse, said she had heard talk on the street about the possibility of a problem after the votes, even proposals for tests on household items. He was also frustrated by the intervention of the US President.

“I think the people’s decision must be taken here, because in the end, we are citizens,” he said.

Concerns about safety and employment were not at the top of many voters’ minds.

Homicide and unemployment rates have risen in the past four years under Castro, as the International Monetary Fund has called off its administration, but Honduras still has America’s highest unemployment rate.

Castro’s supporters point to the situation he inherited from former President Hernandez, who was ordered by his government in the United States to deal with drug trafficking charges after leaving office.