On Wednesday, Free Party presidential candidate Rixi Moncada responded to comments made against her by U.S. President Donald Trump, who sought to discredit her by calling her a “communist.”
“They call me a communist to hide the truth: they fear the democratization of the economy and are terrified of the Tax Justice Law. They want money to remain a privilege for the ten wealthiest families in the country and not a right for the people,” she said, without explicitly naming the Republican leader.
“We are heading to elections on Nov. 30, and I reaffirm my accusation that the National Electoral Council’s preliminary results transmission system at 9 p.m. on Sunday is a trap. I invite the people to safeguard the tally sheets from every polling station,” Moncada added.
Earlier, in what was widely viewed as a new act of interference in the internal affairs of a Latin American country, Trump urged Hondurans to support National Party conservative candidate Nasry Asfura. He accused Asfura’s rivals of being allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“Democracy is on trial in the coming elections in the beautiful country of Honduras on November 30th. Will Maduro and his narco-terrorists 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. Tito was the highly successful mayor of Tegucigalpa where he brought running water to millions, and paved hundreds of kilometers of roads. His chief opponent is Rixi Moncada, who says Fidel Castro is her idol,” Trump said.
The Republican leader also disparaged Salvador Nasralla, the presidential candidate of the right-wing Liberal Party, accusing him of being part of an effort to siphon votes away from Asfura.
“Normally, the smart people of Honduras would reject her and elect Tito Asfura, but the communists are trying to trick the people by running a third candidate, Salvador Nasralla. Nasralla is no friend of freedom. A borderline communist, he helped Xiomara Castro by running as her vice president. He won, and helped Castro win. Then he resigned, and is now pretending to be an anti-communist only for the purposes of splitting Asfura’s vote,” the U.S. president wrote on Truth Social.
Echoing what happened during the legislative elections in Argentina, Trump sought to pressure Hondurans by stating which president he would be willing to work with.
“The people of Honduras must not be tricked again. The only real friend of freedom in Honduras is Tito Asfura. Tito and I can work together to fight the narco-communists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras. I cannot work with Moncada and the communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for freedom and cannot be trusted. I hope the people of Honduras vote for freedom and democracy, and elect Tito Asfura, president!”
According to the most recent polling, however, Rixi Moncada is the candidate with the best chances of winning Sunday’s election, followed by Asfura and Nasralla.
In response to the U.S. president’s remarks, right-wing candidate Asfura reacted without offering the slightest criticism of the new episode of foreign interference.
“Thank you very much for your support, President Donald Trump. This Nov. 30, we stand firm to defend our democracy, our freedom and the values that make our country great. Honduras, we’re going to be fine!” Asfura wrote on social media.
For his part, Nasralla said that if elected president he would be “an ally of freedoms in Ibero-America” and lamented the “disinformation” spread by his political rivals that led Trump to endorse Asfura. He also expressed his “respect and highest consideration” for Trump, whom he described as “a natural ally of my beloved Honduras.”
