\n<\/p>\n
Washington\u2019s top diplomat says he thanked Asfura, who was backed by Trump, for \u2018advocacy of US strategic objectives\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\nPublished On 26 Dec 2025<\/span>26 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\nClick here to share on social media<\/p>\nshare2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has congratulated Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, for his victory in the Central American country\u2019s contentious election.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of State said on Friday that Rubio and Asfura in a phone call discussed collaboration on issues such as trade and security.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Rubio commended President-Elect Asfura for his advocacy of US strategic objectives, including advancing our bilateral and regional security cooperation, and strengthening economic ties between our two countries,\u201d the State Department said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2025\/12\/secretary-rubios-call-with-honduras-president-elect-asfura\/\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura claimed a narrow victory on Wednesday in the November 30 election marked by Trump\u2019s intervention on his behalf. Election authorities declared Asfura the winner after weeks of counting amid high tensions and allegations of fraud and impropriety from other candidates.<\/p>\n<p>The right-wing Asfura, representing the National Party, edged out Salvador Nasralla of the centre-right Liberal Party with 40.27 percent of the vote to Nasralla\u2019s 39.53 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, with deep gratitude, I accept the honour of being able to work for you. I extend my hand so we can walk together with determination to work tirelessly for Honduras. I will not fail you,\u201d Asfura said in a video statement released on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Both Nasralla and Rixi Moncada, the candidate for current President Xiomara Castro\u2019s left-leaning LIBRE Party, who came in a distant third, have disputed the results of the election.<\/p>\n<p>Nasralla said on Wednesday that election authorities had \u201cbetrayed the Honduran people\u201d. He also took aim at Trump, who said before the election that a victory for anyone but Asfura would put US economic ties with Honduras at risk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr President, your endorsed candidate in Honduras is complicit in silencing the votes of our citizens,\u201d Nasralla said in a social media post. \u201cIf he is truly worthy of your backing, if his hands are clean, if he has nothing to fear, then why doesn\u2019t he allow for every vote to be counted?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Honduras has experienced several contested elections since a US-backed coup in 2009. Protests over the November election have thus far remained peaceful.<\/p>\n<p>Before the election, Trump also issued a criticised pardon for right-wing former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of crimes linked to the trafficking of drugs to the US during his time in office.<\/p>\n<p>The pardon came as the US says it is shifting its foreign policy focus to the Americas.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura, the former mayor of Honduras\u2019s capital, Tegucigalpa, is of Palestinian descent. But his National Party is staunchly pro-Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Under Hernandez in 2021, Honduras became only the fourth country to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in breach of international law.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura has also aligned himself with Trump and other right-wing leaders in the Americas, including Argentina\u2019s\u00a0Javier Milei.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington\u2019s top diplomat says he thanked Asfura, who was backed by Trump, for \u2018advocacy of US strategic objectives\u2019. Published On 26 Dec 202526 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has congratulated Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, for his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Published On 26 Dec 2025<\/span>26 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\nClick here to share on social media<\/p>\nshare2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has congratulated Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, for his victory in the Central American country\u2019s contentious election.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of State said on Friday that Rubio and Asfura in a phone call discussed collaboration on issues such as trade and security.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Rubio commended President-Elect Asfura for his advocacy of US strategic objectives, including advancing our bilateral and regional security cooperation, and strengthening economic ties between our two countries,\u201d the State Department said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2025\/12\/secretary-rubios-call-with-honduras-president-elect-asfura\/\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura claimed a narrow victory on Wednesday in the November 30 election marked by Trump\u2019s intervention on his behalf. Election authorities declared Asfura the winner after weeks of counting amid high tensions and allegations of fraud and impropriety from other candidates.<\/p>\n<p>The right-wing Asfura, representing the National Party, edged out Salvador Nasralla of the centre-right Liberal Party with 40.27 percent of the vote to Nasralla\u2019s 39.53 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, with deep gratitude, I accept the honour of being able to work for you. I extend my hand so we can walk together with determination to work tirelessly for Honduras. I will not fail you,\u201d Asfura said in a video statement released on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Both Nasralla and Rixi Moncada, the candidate for current President Xiomara Castro\u2019s left-leaning LIBRE Party, who came in a distant third, have disputed the results of the election.<\/p>\n<p>Nasralla said on Wednesday that election authorities had \u201cbetrayed the Honduran people\u201d. He also took aim at Trump, who said before the election that a victory for anyone but Asfura would put US economic ties with Honduras at risk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr President, your endorsed candidate in Honduras is complicit in silencing the votes of our citizens,\u201d Nasralla said in a social media post. \u201cIf he is truly worthy of your backing, if his hands are clean, if he has nothing to fear, then why doesn\u2019t he allow for every vote to be counted?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Honduras has experienced several contested elections since a US-backed coup in 2009. Protests over the November election have thus far remained peaceful.<\/p>\n<p>Before the election, Trump also issued a criticised pardon for right-wing former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of crimes linked to the trafficking of drugs to the US during his time in office.<\/p>\n<p>The pardon came as the US says it is shifting its foreign policy focus to the Americas.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura, the former mayor of Honduras\u2019s capital, Tegucigalpa, is of Palestinian descent. But his National Party is staunchly pro-Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Under Hernandez in 2021, Honduras became only the fourth country to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in breach of international law.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura has also aligned himself with Trump and other right-wing leaders in the Americas, including Argentina\u2019s\u00a0Javier Milei.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington\u2019s top diplomat says he thanked Asfura, who was backed by Trump, for \u2018advocacy of US strategic objectives\u2019. Published On 26 Dec 202526 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has congratulated Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, for his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n
share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has congratulated Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, for his victory in the Central American country\u2019s contentious election.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of State said on Friday that Rubio and Asfura in a phone call discussed collaboration on issues such as trade and security.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Rubio commended President-Elect Asfura for his advocacy of US strategic objectives, including advancing our bilateral and regional security cooperation, and strengthening economic ties between our two countries,\u201d the State Department said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2025\/12\/secretary-rubios-call-with-honduras-president-elect-asfura\/\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura claimed a narrow victory on Wednesday in the November 30 election marked by Trump\u2019s intervention on his behalf. Election authorities declared Asfura the winner after weeks of counting amid high tensions and allegations of fraud and impropriety from other candidates.<\/p>\n<p>The right-wing Asfura, representing the National Party, edged out Salvador Nasralla of the centre-right Liberal Party with 40.27 percent of the vote to Nasralla\u2019s 39.53 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, with deep gratitude, I accept the honour of being able to work for you. I extend my hand so we can walk together with determination to work tirelessly for Honduras. I will not fail you,\u201d Asfura said in a video statement released on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Both Nasralla and Rixi Moncada, the candidate for current President Xiomara Castro\u2019s left-leaning LIBRE Party, who came in a distant third, have disputed the results of the election.<\/p>\n<p>Nasralla said on Wednesday that election authorities had \u201cbetrayed the Honduran people\u201d. He also took aim at Trump, who said before the election that a victory for anyone but Asfura would put US economic ties with Honduras at risk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr President, your endorsed candidate in Honduras is complicit in silencing the votes of our citizens,\u201d Nasralla said in a social media post. \u201cIf he is truly worthy of your backing, if his hands are clean, if he has nothing to fear, then why doesn\u2019t he allow for every vote to be counted?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Honduras has experienced several contested elections since a US-backed coup in 2009. Protests over the November election have thus far remained peaceful.<\/p>\n<p>Before the election, Trump also issued a criticised pardon for right-wing former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of crimes linked to the trafficking of drugs to the US during his time in office.<\/p>\n<p>The pardon came as the US says it is shifting its foreign policy focus to the Americas.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura, the former mayor of Honduras\u2019s capital, Tegucigalpa, is of Palestinian descent. But his National Party is staunchly pro-Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Under Hernandez in 2021, Honduras became only the fourth country to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in breach of international law.<\/p>\n<p>Asfura has also aligned himself with Trump and other right-wing leaders in the Americas, including Argentina\u2019s\u00a0Javier Milei.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington\u2019s top diplomat says he thanked Asfura, who was backed by Trump, for \u2018advocacy of US strategic objectives\u2019. Published On 26 Dec 202526 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has congratulated Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, for his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}