[News] Trump frees drug trafficker: US meddles in Honduras' elections, amid fraud accusations
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Dec 5 10:28:41 EST 2025
Trump frees drug trafficker: US meddles in Honduras' elections, amid
fraud accusations
Donald Trump pardoned and freed from prison the drug dealer Juan Orlando
Hernández (JOH), the former dictator of Honduras. The US is openly
meddling in the country's elections, amid fraud accusations.
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Trump frees drug trafficker: US meddles in Honduras' elections, amid
fraud accusations
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=457596&post_id=180778688&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=lvppb&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTgwNzc4Njg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjQ5MzMyMDYsImV4cCI6MTc2NzUyNTIwNiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTQ1NzU5NiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.yVoQ8moBZpsthaO5LNLCkMiwc3q3qLEZrLYLDsDVl08>
Donald Trump pardoned and freed from prison the drug dealer Juan
Orlando Hernández (JOH), the former dictator of Honduras. The US
is openly meddling in the country's elections, amid fraud accusations.
Ben Norton <https://substack.com/@benjaminnorton>
Dec 5, 2025
<https://substack.com/@benjaminnorton>
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=457596&post_id=180778688&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTgwNzc4Njg4LCJyZWFjdGlvbiI6IuKdpCIsImlhdCI6MTc2NDkzMzIwNiwiZXhwIjoxNzY3NTI1MjA2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNDU3NTk2Iiwic3ViIjoicmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.1JJ327N9JJ4JkHhopT3XLC4THgj95i4-SQdcigF_Ejw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=lvppb>
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<https://substack.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.h60pcj4ikahdAgLqUHl7GdotbLLIr-S5Bz-ACkfGjus?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
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<https://open.substack.com/pub/geopoliticaleconomy/p/trump-drugs-joh-meddling-honduras-election-fraud?utm_source=email&redirect=app-store&utm_campaign=email-read-in-app>
<https://substack.com/redirect/24f7f59e-c97c-4a94-aa76-e1bccde378f4?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Donald Trump has pardoned and freed from prison one of the world’s worst
drug dealers, the former dictator of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández,
who was convicted of trafficking more than 400 tons of cocaine and
machine guns into the United States.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been openly meddling in
Honduras’ 2025 election.
Honduran electoral officials have revealed evidence of massive fraud,
aimed at putting a right-wing US-backed candidate in power.
<https://substack.com/redirect/8106e9b1-ea3f-47bc-9c91-e218474729d9?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
The US government sponsored a military coup
<https://substack.com/redirect/1e33da07-1dcb-4bd5-b2d2-51c14dab52d7?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>against
Honduras’ democratically elected left-wing president in 2009.
Washington then helped a corrupt right-wing regime
<https://substack.com/redirect/2b0953cf-3ef6-4414-a9bc-20b6a900e207?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>,
run by the drug-trafficking dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), steal
Honduras’ elections
<https://substack.com/redirect/eebf82e5-9bcc-4016-aaeb-8529af03b919?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>in
2013 and 2017.
Today, Honduran officials warn that this nightmare is repeating again.
Honduran officials allege fraud in the November 2025 election
Honduras held a disputed election on 30 November 2025. As of the morning
of 5 December, there still was no official winner. Multiple candidates
have alleged wrongdoing.
An electoral counselor at Honduras’ National Electoral Council (CNE),
Marlon Ochoa, held a press conference on the night of 4 December in
which he published evidence of what he called a “plan of monumental
electoral fraud”
<https://substack.com/redirect/4f154402-de41-4619-af05-a22d4d5ee525?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
<https://substack.com/redirect/b930e63d-540e-4fc4-ac9a-df403e01f2f3?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Ochoa documented extreme irregularities in the result transmission
system, known as the TREP.
Workers at the CNE published videos
<https://substack.com/redirect/3125c02b-ed7f-461c-8661-3005d9066a8b?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>showing
how the TREP was taking votes away from candidates and giving them to
others.
Of the 15,297 vote tally sheets that had been processed as of 4
December, 13,246 of them (86.6%) had errors and inconsistencies,
according to Ochoa.
<https://substack.com/redirect/449af859-acea-407c-9aa4-cbb24acb210e?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Several weeks before the 30 November election, Honduran President
Xiomara Castro published 26 leaked audio recordings in which right-wing,
US-backed opposition politicians could be heard plotting an electoral
coup
<https://substack.com/redirect/3fb5ebbb-a687-40aa-ac8b-f9a647ff2f28?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
They discussed plans to hack the TREP system in order to change the votes.
It appears that these plans were fulfilled exactly as planned.
The candidate of Honduras’ left-wing Libre Party, Rixi Moncada, alleged
that the election was being stolen
<https://substack.com/redirect/c065eff8-61dd-454d-ab9f-fb544bea26fe?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
Moncada pointed to many irregularities, such as the fact that the tally
sheets representing roughly 25% of the total votes did not have
biometric confirmation. Moreover, many tally sheets had more votes than
were in the area they represented.
When the US government sponsored a military coup in 2009, it overthrew
Honduras’ democratically elected left-wing President Manuel Zelaya, who
is a leader of the Libre Party. His wife is Xiomara Castro, the current
Honduran president, whose government has been demonized by Washington
and targeted for destabilization.
The US government openly meddles in Honduras’ election
A few days before the 30 November election, Donald Trump openly meddled
in Honduras’ internal affairs.
Trump published posts on his website Truth Social in which he endorsed
Nasry “Tito” Asfura, a candidate in the 2025 election, from Honduras’
right-wing National Party.
Trump also attacked candidate Rixi Moncada, of the left-wing Libre
Party, smearing her as a “narcocommunist”.
“Democracy is on trial in the coming Elections in the beautiful country
of Honduras on November 30th”, Trump wrote
<https://substack.com/redirect/5a497e85-b726-473c-a736-3b4926f5ee4d?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>on
26 November. “Will Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over another
country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?”
“The man who is standing up for Democracy, and fighting against Maduro,
is Tito Asfura, the Presidential Candidate of the National Party”, Trump
claimed.
Honduras’ National Party is very closely connected to drug cartels, and
is notoriously corrupt and authoritarian. It is the party of the former
dictator Juan Orlando Hernández, who was imprisoned for trafficking more
than 400 tons of cocaine into the US.
Trump, however, ignored Asfura’s drug ties and stated, “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”, the US president added.
“I hope the people of Honduras vote for Freedom and Democracy, and elect
Tito Asfura, President!”, he wrote.
Trump then re-posted the same message
<https://substack.com/redirect/8376ad74-b177-4686-bcb0-136fad0bff63?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>on
28 November.
<https://substack.com/redirect/a8913a60-674a-4300-8b4a-70999f48d33c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Trump also criticized Salvador Nasralla, another Honduran presidential
candidate from the center-right Liberal Party.
Both Asfura and Nasralla are wealthy businessmen, and they are backed by
competing factions of Honduran oligarchs.
Asfura and the National Party are closely allied with Trump, Marco
Rubio, and the Republican Party.
Nasralla is more aligned with the centrists in the Democratic Party.
Trump repeatedly campaigned for Asfura.
In another post on 28 November, Trump threatened Honduras
<https://substack.com/redirect/2fdceb84-c2b8-410b-ada4-678c5b10c5eb?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
“If Tito Asfura wins for President of Honduras, because the United
States has so much confidence in him, his Policies, and what he will do
for the Great People of Honduras, we will be very supportive”, Trump
pledged.
“If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good
money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic
results to a country”, Trump added.
This was a clear message to the Honduran people: if they didn’t vote for
the US-backed candidate, it would “bring catastrophic results to” their
country.
“Tito will be a Great President, and the United States will work closely
with him in order to ensure the success, with all of its potential, of
Honduras!” Trump declared, deciding on behalf of the Honduran people who
their leader should be.
“MAKE HONDURAS GREAT AGAIN!” the US president proclaimed.
<https://substack.com/redirect/b3f6ba0f-3dc2-417f-bf3f-a4dae09ae13f?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Then, on 30 November, Trump again meddled in Honduras’ election
<https://substack.com/redirect/70a8a401-8152-4350-8b9d-78db03db29e9?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
“Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their
Presidential Election”, he wrote.
“If they do, there will be hell to pay!” he threatened.
US disinformation deceives Hondurans, interfering in elections
Rixi Moncada, the left-wing presidential candidate, also accused the
United States of meddling in Honduras’ election in other ways.
In the lead-up to the election, people in Honduras were flooded with
millions of messages on their phones warning them that, if they voted
for the left-wing Libre Party, the US government would block remittances
from being sent to Honduras
<https://substack.com/redirect/2e7f74f0-bd8b-45d8-94b6-07f3de05d217?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
Honduras is a poor country, and remissions, primarily from Hondurans
living in the US, make up roughly 25% of the country’s GDP
<https://substack.com/redirect/43680f0c-e482-4332-ad89-10d879788c80?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
If the Trump administration cut off remittances, it would cause an
economic catastrophe.
This was another example of how the sovereignty of the Central American
nation was being violated.
The vice foreign minister of Honduras, Gerardo Torres Zelaya, remarked
that the 2025 “elections were an absolute fiasco. A scandalous theft
<https://substack.com/redirect/68172c50-1195-4f76-9c94-7a5d428c2991?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>and
disrespect for the popular will”.
Trump released drug-trafficking Honduran dictator Juan Orlando
Hernández
In the middle of the chaos of the alleged electoral coup in Honduras,
Donald Trump further escalated the US government’s meddling in the
country’s internal affairs.
On 1 December, Trump officially pardoned and freed from prison
<https://substack.com/redirect/72f14335-98aa-4e63-b826-29d0928bbd34?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>the
drug-trafficking former dictator of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández,
known by the acronym JOH.
JOH had been convicted by a US court, in 2024, of trafficking more than
400 tons of cocaine and machine guns into the United States.
This is what the US Department of Justice wrote
<https://substack.com/redirect/2814c372-715e-475e-add8-23145e499f27?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>at
the time (emphasis added):
According to court documents, from at least in or about 2004, up to
and including in or about 2022, *Hernández, the former two-term
president of Honduras and former president of the Honduran National
Congress, was at the center of one of the largest and most violent
drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world*. During his political
career, *Hernández abused his powerful positions and authority in
Honduras to facilitate the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine
into the U.S.**Hernández’s co-conspirators were armed with machine
guns and destructive devices, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and grenade
launchers, which they used to protect their massive cocaine loads as
they transited across Honduras on their way to the United States,
protect the money they made from the eventual sale of this cocaine,
and guard their drug-trafficking territory from rivals.**Hernández
received millions of dollars of drug money from some of the largest
and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico,
and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran
politics. *In turn, as Hernández rose to power in Honduras, he
provided increased support and protection for his co-conspirators,
allowing them to move mountains of cocaine, commit acts of violence
and murder, and help turn Honduras into one of the most dangerous
countries in the world.
*During his time in office, Hernández publicly promoted legislation
and the efforts he purported to undertake in support of
anti-narcotics measures in Honduras*. *At the same time, he
protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle and
those who provided him with cocaine-fueled bribes that allowed him
to obtain and stay in power in Honduras*. For example, Hernández
selectively upheld extraditions by supporting and taking credit for
extraditions to the United States of certain drug traffickers who
threatened his grip on power, while at the same time promising drug
traffickers who bribed him and followed his instructions that they
would remain safe in Honduras.
Trump freed this notorious drug trafficker at the same moment that he is
waging a war against Venezuela
<https://substack.com/redirect/16d4c1b3-9577-4a63-97f6-ab92e42eb17a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>,
which the US government falsely claims is about stopping “drug trafficking”.
In reality, the Trump administration seeks to overthrow Venezuela’s
left-wing President Nicolás Maduro
<https://substack.com/redirect/fadac2b4-0ed5-44e0-a7fb-8a734c7126b2?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
The US war on Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs.
On 2 December, the day after he pardoned one of the worst drug dealers
on Earth, Trump threatened to bomb
<https://substack.com/redirect/e3148c89-86f4-484a-b14f-20356f4af7b5?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>any
country that sends illegal drugs to the US.
The hypocrisy is so blatant that even Western media outlets, such as the
major British newspaper The Guardian, remarked, “Trump move to pardon
Honduras’s ex-president shows counter-drug effort is ‘based on lies and
hypocrisy
<https://substack.com/redirect/f523d4f6-7baf-45fd-8b9a-743e1d8d7be5?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>’”.
US-backed coup and electoral fraud in Honduras
The only reason that JOH came to power in the first place is because, in
2009, the Barack Obama administration sponsored a military coup
<https://substack.com/redirect/1e33da07-1dcb-4bd5-b2d2-51c14dab52d7?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>against
Honduras’ democratically elected left-wing government, which had been
allied with Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
The US State Department, then led by Hillary Clinton, recognized
Honduras’ unelected right-wing coup regime
<https://substack.com/redirect/f4330a83-07d3-46f0-ac73-02d214581804?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
<https://substack.com/redirect/872774b3-914e-41c4-b9e8-c2be6864c3c1?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Following the US-backed coup, the homicide rate in Honduras skyrocketed,
and the Central American nation became one of the most violent countries
on Earth. This fueled a migration crisis; many immigrants and refugees
fled Honduras and traveled northward to the US.
JOH subsequently stole Honduras’ 2013 election
<https://substack.com/redirect/aac23596-d6e5-4d08-bcc0-3d70bff756e8?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>,
by using drug money. US prosecutors admitted that JOH was given a $1
million bribe from notorious Mexican cartel leader El Chapo Guzmán
<https://substack.com/redirect/26b36fac-54a4-418b-8822-af02244f1317?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>,
which was used to rig the 2013 election
<https://substack.com/redirect/89659e33-ee89-4cc4-bae9-520fde98caa9?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
<https://substack.com/redirect/ec46f2e4-ec97-4d22-b7e2-6498ae6859f4?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Obama with Honduran narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernández
The Honduran constitution limits presidents to just one term, without
eligibility for reelection.
Despite the constitutional restrictions, the dictator JOH stole the 2017
election as well, carrying out blatant fraud.
The US government, during Trump’s first term, happily recognized JOH in
the stolen 2017 election
<https://substack.com/redirect/eebf82e5-9bcc-4016-aaeb-8529af03b919?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
The European Union also legitimized JOH’s fraud
<https://substack.com/redirect/de13288e-aabc-410d-9fb9-557e0d4ae33c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
Why was Washington so insistent on propping up JOH’s narco-regime? It
compliantly served US interests.
Under JOH’s dictatorship, Honduras supported Trump’s coup attempt in
Venezuela
<https://substack.com/redirect/f9a84f6b-455c-4b6d-a3c9-ae794faef337?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>in
2019, recognizing the unelected right-wing opposition figure Juan Guaidó
as Venezuela’s supposed “interim president”.
JOH’s narco-regime also allowed the US military to operate several
strategic bases in Honduras, including the Soto Cano air base, the
largest US base in the region.
<https://substack.com/redirect/82f90e82-2b30-41d3-b45e-360f5cd4af86?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
A map of US military bases in Honduras
Both the Obama administration and the first Trump administration openly
supported JOH’s dictatorship. This was despite the fact that US
authorities knew that JOH was running one of the largest
drug-trafficking operations on Earth.
To justify his pardoning of JOH, Trump falsely claimed
<https://substack.com/redirect/8f9f7c76-1bdd-44c8-92da-72acedab25d8?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>that
the Joe Biden administration had imprisoned the drug trafficker on fake,
politically motivated charges
<https://substack.com/redirect/7524752b-f654-4506-9c00-c3adc45d4801?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>.
Trump called it a “witch hunt”.
This is quite ironic, because the US Department of Justice’s
investigation into JOH’s drug trafficking actually started during
Trump’s first term as president.
A report published by the Associated Press in 2019, when Trump was
president, noted, “U.S. federal prosecutors have accused Honduran
President Juan Orlando Hernández of having used $1.5 million in drug
trafficking proceeds to secure the presidency
<https://substack.com/redirect/88c93642-fb28-4e9c-a5dd-04106e5f0f11?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>in
2013”.
<https://substack.com/redirect/0492cad1-8fb6-4084-a99d-44fa4d567989?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Donald Trump with Honduras’ narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH)
What is the US government’s plan?
Gerardo Torres Zelaya, the vice foreign minister of Honduras, argued
that the US government’s strategy is not just to put in power the
right-wing candidate Tito Asfura (who is commonly referred to with the
nickname “Papi”), but also to reimpose an obedient narco-regime that
will serve US interests.
“It is this criminal [JOH] whom Trump wants to impose on us”, Torres
said. “It is not Papi, he is just the cover. It is the narco-state that
they want to reinstall
<https://substack.com/redirect/8edfae87-bdb8-4dee-a27d-8a5fc34e81ad?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>”.
Torres published a video imploring fellow Hondurans: “we must unite to
prevent the plan to return us to the narco-state
<https://substack.com/redirect/430c70a1-df3d-46cc-8228-84ba027aea0e?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>from
being successful. Today, the United States, which has already
disrespectfully interfered in our elections, freed the worst criminal in
our history. We must unite and defend our homeland”.
Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, who stood in as the
presidential designate for candidate Rixi Moncada, reflected on the
blatant foreign interference
<https://substack.com/redirect/569bea4c-f5ea-41f5-bb9e-a5ea6a14488d?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>in
his country’s 2025 election (emphasis added):
Like
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=457596&post_id=180778688&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTgwNzc4Njg4LCJyZWFjdGlvbiI6IuKdpCIsImlhdCI6MTc2NDkzMzIwNiwiZXhwIjoxNzY3NTI1MjA2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNDU3NTk2Iiwic3ViIjoicmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.1JJ327N9JJ4JkHhopT3XLC4THgj95i4-SQdcigF_Ejw&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=lvppb>
Comment
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=457596&post_id=180778688&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTgwNzc4Njg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjQ5MzMyMDYsImV4cCI6MTc2NzUyNTIwNiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTQ1NzU5NiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.yVoQ8moBZpsthaO5LNLCkMiwc3q3qLEZrLYLDsDVl08&r=lvppb&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
Restack
<https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9vcGVuLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS9wdWIvZ2VvcG9saXRpY2FsZWNvbm9teS9wL3RydW1wLWRydWdzLWpvaC1tZWRkbGluZy1ob25kdXJhcy1lbGVjdGlvbi1mcmF1ZD91dG1fc291cmNlPXN1YnN0YWNrJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWVtYWlsLXJlc3RhY2stY29tbWVudCZhY3Rpb249cmVzdGFjay1jb21tZW50JnI9bHZwcGImdG9rZW49ZXlKMWMyVnlYMmxrSWpvek5qYzFNVFU0TXl3aWNHOXpkRjlwWkNJNk1UZ3dOemM0TmpnNExDSnBZWFFpT2pFM05qUTVNek15TURZc0ltVjRjQ0k2TVRjMk56VXlOVEl3Tml3aWFYTnpJam9pY0hWaUxUUTFOelU1TmlJc0luTjFZaUk2SW5CdmMzUXRjbVZoWTNScGIyNGlmUS55Vm9ROG1vQlpwc3RoYU81TE5MQ2tNaXdjM3EzcUxFWnJMWUxEc0RWbDA4IiwicCI6MTgwNzc4Njg4LCJzIjo0NTc1OTYsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjM2NzUxNTgzLCJpYXQiOjE3NjQ5MzMyMDYsImV4cCI6MjA4MDUwOTIwNiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.h60pcj4ikahdAgLqUHl7GdotbLLIr-S5Bz-ACkfGjus?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
© 2025 Benjamin Norton
548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104
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