Washington.- The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called this Friday to the president-elect of Honduras, Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura, to congratulate him on his electoral victory and highlight the harmony of his political project with the agenda of the Donald Trump Government.
“Secretary Rubio praised President-elect Asfura for his defense of U.S. strategic objectives, including the promotion of our bilateral and regional security cooperation and the strengthening of economic ties between both countries,” the State Department said in a statement.
During the conversation, both “expressed their willingness to deepen cooperation and strengthen the alliance between the United States and Honduras”.
Trump publicly endorsed Asfura during the campaign, calling him “the only true friend of freedom,” and assured that together they could “fight the narco-communists.”
Furthermore, the U.S. president pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, from the same party as Asfura, who was serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking in a United States prison.
Asfura, President-elect, twenty-four days after the elections
Trump’s support generated rejection in both Honduras and several countries in the region, which denounced foreign electoral interference.
The
National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Asfura president-elect on Wednesday, twenty-four days after the general elections of November 30, following a slow recount affected by technical failures.
The former mayor of Tegucigalpa and candidate of the conservative National Party obtained 40.26% of the votes and narrowly defeated Salvador Nasralla, of the also conservative Liberal Party, who achieved 39.54%, with 99.93% of the ballots counted.
The United States, the
European Union (EU), and several Latin American countries quickly recognized the results and urged a peaceful transition in Honduras, where Asfura will assume office on January 27th, replacing outgoing President Xiomara Castro, from the leftist Libre party.
