Left-wing candidate Rixi Moncada, who represents the ruling Libre Party of President Xiomara Castro, strongly criticised US President Donald Trump ahead of Sunday’s presidential election in Honduras. She said his recent actions were a clear attempt to influence the vote.

“There is no doubt that these are two concrete actions, three days before the elections, that are totally interventionist,” Moncada told reporters during a press conference on Saturday.

Her comments came after Trump publicly supported her right-wing rival and made an unexpected announcement related to a former Honduran leader.

Trump backs right-wing opponent

Earlier in the week, Trump endorsed Nasry Asfura, one of the top candidates in the race. He said they could work together to fight what he described as the region’s “narcocommunists.”

Then, on Friday, he increased pressure by warning that the United States could cut off support to Honduras if Asfura lost the election. At the same time, he made a surprising declaration that he would be pardoning former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Former president serving US prison sentence

Juan Orlando Hernandez, who belongs to the same political party as Asfura, is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States. A US court convicted him last year on drug trafficking charges.

Hernandez served as Honduras’s president from 2014 to 2022. US prosecutors accused him of helping move around 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Shortly after he left office, authorities extradited him to face charges in the US.

Pardon sparks international criticism

Trump’s decision to pardon Hernandez drew criticism from his political opponents in the United States. It also earned rebukes from Colombia’s president, especially because it happened during an ongoing and highly controversial US campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America.

This operation has reportedly led to more than 80 deaths in strikes carried out in international waters. Experts have condemned these actions and described them as extrajudicial killings.

Trump defends decision

In a post on social media on Friday, Trump said Hernandez “has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly,” although he did not provide any further details to support this claim.