# Honduras Election is Close **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 1, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301 "2025-12-01T20:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/1 "2025-12-01T20:46:43Z")
Trump endorsed Tito Asfura (AKA Nasry Asfura) is still a bit ahead, but the trend in the last few updates goes against him. [Local media](https://noticias247.hn/carrera-ajustada-nasralla-voto-a-voto-se-acerca-a-tito-asfura-con-una-minina-diferencia.html) with Google Translate: > [@](#): > > With each update from the National Electoral Council (CNE), the data shifts and generates expectations among citizens, while the gap between the two candidates, Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla, vying for the presidency, narrows to a mere **515 votes**. > > According **to the latest official report, Asfura leads with 749,022 votes, followed very closely by Nasralla, who has accumulated 748,507, keeping the nation in a state of uncertainty and constant vigilance over the count.** ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/2 "2025-12-01T21:07:58Z")
[Right-wing Honduras presidential rivals locked in ‘technical tie’ after preliminary count](https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20251201-right-wing-honduras-presidential-rivals-locked-in-technical-tie-after-preliminary-count#) > [@](#): > > Nasry Asfura, [a businessman backed](https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20251201-trump-backed-conservative-asfura-takes-narrow-lead-in-honduras-presidential-poll) by US President [Donald Trump](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/donald-trump/), led rival Salvador Nasralla, a TV host, by just 515 votes, making it a “technical tie”, National Electoral Council (CNE) head Ana Paola Hall said on X after a partial digital tally. > > She said the CNE will now begin a manual count in a vote that left the ruling left-leaning party out in the cold in one of [Latin America](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/latin-america/)’s most impoverished and violent countries. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/3 "2025-12-01T21:17:05Z")
Any Trump-endorsed candidate is probably bad, but is his opponent any good either? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/4 "2025-12-01T21:40:55Z")
Here is the Wikipedia page for Salvador Nasralla: > **[Salvador Nasralla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Nasralla)** > > Salvador Alejandro César Nasralla Salum (born 30 January 1953) is a Honduran civil engineer, sports journalist, television presenter, businessman, and politician who served as the First Vice President of Honduras from 2022 until his resignation in 2024. A member of the Liberal Party, he has been described as a centrist. > Nasralla began his career in business, before becoming the presenter of the TV programs 5 Deportivo and X-0 da Dinero; he has been called "El señor de la televisión". He found... It’s Wikipedia, so not the greatest source in the world, but there’s lots of interesting info. Apparently he was strongly involved in fighting corruption in Honduras, and some of his claims of corruption were later corroborated by evidence. Also, he ran for president in 2017 and lost, and like Trump he claimed the election was stolen, but unlike Trump there was actual evidence and the election fraud was quite prevalent according to NYC prosecutors. > **[Sobornos del cártel de Sinaloa y fraudes electorales con dinero del narco: 15...](https://www.elheraldo.hn/fotogalerias/sobornos-cartel-sinaloa-fraudes-electorales-narcotrafico-revelaciones-fiscalia-caso-juan-orlando-hernandez-joh-honduras-BF13255646#image-14)** > > La Fiscalía del Distrito Sur de Nueva York presentó un resumen de pruebas, a poco meses que inicie el juicio en el caso del expresidente de Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández. Entre las acusaciones destacan fraudes electorales en 2013 y 2017, además de... Translation of the headline into English per Google: “Sinaloa cartel bribes and electoral fraud with drug money: 15 facts from the summary of the Prosecutor’s Office in the JOH case.” While France 24 above claimed he is right-wing, I don’t know that he would be called such in the US; he is running as a member of the [Liberal Party of Honduras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Party_of_Honduras), which is centrist. It _does_, however, believe that abortion should be illegal, if that tells you anything. The guy that Trump is backing is with the [National Party of Honduras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Party_of_Honduras), which is explicitly Christian and has been involved heavily in election fraud, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Based on my brief research, Nasralla seems preferable to his rival. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/5 "2025-12-02T13:10:41Z")
So predictable, but nonetheless a complete foreign election interference disgrace: [Donald Trump on Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115647697688351327) > [@](#): > > Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election. If they do, there will be hell to pay! The people of Honduras voted in overwhelming numbers on November 30th. The National Electoral Commission, the official body charged with counting the Votes, abruptly stopped counting at midnight on November 30th. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/6 "2025-12-02T14:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election. (Trump’s quote.) Like when Bush Sr. invaded Iraq because Iraq had violated Kuwait’s sovereign territory, while twelve years later Bush Jr. invaded Iraq’s sovereign territory (and cited the previous accusation as one excuse for doing so). ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/7 "2025-12-02T14:25:55Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Like when Bush Sr. invaded Iraq because Iraq had violated Kuwait’s sovereign territory, while twelve years later Bush Jr. invaded Iraq’s sovereign territory (and cited the previous accusation as one excuse for doing so). To be fair, Trump definitely opposed the second of those. And I don’t recall the US invading Iraq during Desert Storm; only Kuwait (although I could be wrong about that). They definitely bombed inside of Iraq though, but of course Hussein remained in power. A better example might be his ongoing efforts in Venezuela to remove Maduro. Of course, he’s probably right that Madura was not freely elected. The best example, of course, would be Trump and his friends’ attempts in 2020 and early 2021 to change the results of an election more close to home… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/8 "2025-12-02T14:26:55Z")
Yes, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![IkesAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ikesacolyte/32/19012_2.png) [@IkesAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IkesAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/9 "2025-12-02T14:32:33Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > A better example might be his ongoing efforts in Venezuela to remove Maduro. Of course, he’s probably right that Madura was not freely elected. A broken clock is right twice a day. If we do end up going to war with Venezuela, it will be a complete fiasco, but at least we would get rid of a power-hungry dictator, just like when we removed and executed Hussein. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/10 "2025-12-02T15:04:22Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > To be fair, Trump definitely opposed the second of those. Trump now says it was definite, but at the time: [USA Today Fact Check](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/02/20/fact-check-donald-trump-iraq-war/80657524/) > [@](#): > > There is no evidence that we could find, however, that he spoke against the war _before_ it started, although we did find he expressed early concerns about the cost and direction of the war a few months after it started. > > Others have looked, but no one else — including [PolitiFact](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/feb/06/donald-trump/donald-trump-overstates-his-early-opposition-iraq-/) and the [Washington Post Fact Checker](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/10/21/donald-trumps-baseless-claim-that-the-bush-white-house-tried-to-silence-his-iraq-war-opposition-in-2003/) — has been able to find any evidence to support his claims, either. Now, BuzzFeed reports that Trump indicated his support for war in a [radio interview](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/in-2002-donald-trump-said-he-supported-invading-iraq-on-the#.kyoqgyZVmX) with shock jock Howard Stern on Sept. 11, 2002 — a little more than six months before the war started. . . . Here’s why Trump lacked enthusiasm for invading Iraq (while not opposing it):: > [@](#): > > **Trump had a financial interest in opposing the war in the weeks leading up to the war.** The _Newark Star-Ledger_ , New Jersey’s largest newspaper, reported on March 12, 2003 that Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts planned “to sell $485 million in junk-grade bonds this week in an effort to avoid a cash crunch later this year.” The uncertainty of war complicated Trump’s bond sale. The only relevance to this thread is that Iraq has no connection to Trump’s interference with the Honduras election count. Honduras has a [recent history of post-election violence with dozens killed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%E2%80%932018_Honduran_protests). For a foreign leader to feed into this is beyond disgraceful. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/11 "2025-12-02T15:08:00Z")
> [@IkesAcolyte](#): > > If we do end up going to war with Venezuela, it will be a complete fiasco, but at least we would get rid of a power-hungry dictator, just like when we removed and executed Hussein. And how’s Iraq now? ---
**Author:** ![IkesAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ikesacolyte/32/19012_2.png) [@IkesAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IkesAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/12 "2025-12-02T15:58:58Z")
Struggling with political gridlock and still battling Islamic extremism. But they are scored very well on having free and fair elections, and have a fairly free press. Ranked 3rd most democratic government in the Middle East. Not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than under the Ba’athist regime. I think most Iraqis prefer a heated parliamentary scuffle over their village getting gassed for opposing Hussein and his cronies. ---
**Author:** ![emjee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@emjee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emjee)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/13 "2025-12-02T16:13:08Z")
Pretty easy to understand why dumpydon is interfering. “Paul Krugman explains the Hernandez pardon, and it is corrupt as hell, which you no doubt already guessed. "Finally, why pardon Hernández? What’s the connection to the crypto/tech broligarchy? It’s called Próspera. Próspera is a for-profit city being built off Honduras’s coast. Its charter largely exempts the island from Honduran law. Instead, the city is run by a governing structure that for the most part gives control to a corporation, Honduras Próspera Inc., which is in turn funded by a familiar list of Silicon Valley billionaires including Thiel, Sam Altman and Marc Andreesen. So while the city is being marketed as a libertarian paradise, it’s best seen as an autonomous oligarchy, government of, by and for billionaires. And you won’t be surprised to learn that within Próspera, Bitcoin is legal tender.” ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/14 "2025-12-02T16:21:56Z")
An only took (conservative estimate) a couple hundred thousand dead Iraquis… For the record if my country ever slides into dictatorship, I for one _don’t_ want the U.S. to come to the rescue, pretty please. With a cherry on top. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/15 "2025-12-02T16:46:05Z")
Unfortunately, the one thing that the candidate of the ruling party, and Donald Trump, agree on is that the election count is faulty. > **[Honduras | Rixi Moncada denuncia una "trama electoral" con actas infladas...](https://www.nodal.am/2025/12/honduras-rixi-moncada-denuncia-una-trama-electoral-con-actas-infladas-tras-la-eliminacion-de-la-validacion-biometrica-en-las-elecciones-y-la-adulteracion-del-sistema-de-transmision-de-resultados/)** > > NODAL - Noticias de América Latina y el Caribe Google translate: > [@](#): > > Rixi Moncada began by saying that the elections are not lost and rejected the idea that his party would recognize any of the candidates from the National or Liberal Party, stating that “the two are the same.” . . . > > The presidential candidate asserted that the US president’s message, in which he also mentioned her directly, was understood as an attempt to coerce the electorate. . . . > > According to Moncada, of these tally sheets without biometric data, the National Party would have 1,588 sheets with 326,285 votes, while the Liberal Party would have 1,041 sheets with 217,193 votes. Libre, in contrast, claimed to have only 204 sheets in this category. In total, he alleged that the two-party system would have garnered 543,478 votes from tally sheets without biometric data. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/16 "2025-12-02T17:13:12Z")
Here is outside expert opinion on where we stand: [Americas Quarterly](https://americasquarterly.org/article/reaction-next-steps-in-hondurass-close-election/) Valeria Vásquez: > [@](#): > > Rixi Moncada and her LIBRE party will not concede defeat immediately, though they are unlikely to effectively contest the results given the significant gap. Lucas Perelló: > [@](#): > > President Trump’s endorsement of Asfura may have upended the race. Until a couple of days ago, Nasralla seemed to be leading. Trump’s involvement appears to have boosted Asfura’s candidacy, confirming the outsized influence the U.S. has in the country. > > Lastly, there are serious concerns about how the CNE is managing the transmission of results. There have been long delays, reminiscent of the 2017 election crisis. Each party will publish its own results, and the losing parties will cry foul play over alleged election fraud. This spells trouble. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/17 "2025-12-02T17:24:41Z")
Wow. I worked with Hondurans for a while (including students, professors, government workers, and indigenous people), and spent some time down there. Nice folks. I’m saddened that Trump’s endorsement could help a candidate — it should hurt them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/18 "2025-12-02T17:58:05Z")
That sounds like she’s saying that the ballots without biometric data (presumably fingerprints?) should be the relevant ones? But I’m not sure why there even would be two categories. If the law requires biometric data on ballots, then they should all have it, and any without should be discarded. If the law doesn’t require it, then there’s no reason to expect that any ballots would have it, because collecting biometric data is enough of a hassle that nobody would do it unless required. ---
**Author:** ![IkesAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ikesacolyte/32/19012_2.png) [@IkesAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IkesAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/19 "2025-12-02T18:22:56Z")
You’re being liberated! Do not resist. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301/20 "2025-12-02T20:25:30Z")
Nasralla, who Trump calls a “borderline communist,” is now ahead in the count: > **[Nasralla supera a Nasry Asfura en nuevo conteo del CNE](https://www.laprensa.hn/elecciones-honduras-2025/nasralla-supera-nasry-asfura-resultados-presidenciales-honduras-NI28468566)** > > El CNE divulgó un nuevo corte de resultados pasado el mediodía de este martes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honduras-election-is-close/1025301.md?page=2)