149. In this world, the rule of law and conventions have no relevance
Honduras is a country in Central America, bordered by Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the Pacific Ocean through the Gulf of Fonseca. Its capital and largest city is Tegucigalpa.
The word ‘Honduras’ literally means ‘depths’ in Spanish.
The term "banana republic" originally referred to Honduras's unstable democracy under corporate influence. The civilian government was toppled by a military coup in 1963, yet the country resumed civilian governance in 1979.
Now Nasry Asfura has been declared the winner of the presidential election, which was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by US President Donald Trump.
The right-wing candidate Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of Tegucigalpa, received 40.27% of the votes, narrowly defeating center-right candidate Salvador Nasralla, who garnered 39.53%, a difference of only 28,000 votes.
The decision faced criticism from the defeated candidates and was mourned by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to monitor the election.
Days prior to the vote, Trump publicly endorsed Asfura, declared US support for the next government would depend on Asfura's victory, and criticized the other main candidates by labeling them as communists or associates of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
Trump didn’t stop here. He also announced a pardon for Juan Orlando Hernández, the former Honduran president and ally of Asfura, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for allegedly creating a cocaine superhighway to the United States.
Yes Cocaine!
Honduras hosted several significant Mesoamerican civilizations, especially the Maya, before Spanish colonization. The Spanish brought Catholicism and their language, which has become the dominant language today.
Honduras gained independence in 1821 and has remained a republic since then. Despite this, the country has faced significant social conflicts and political instability, which contribute to it being one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.
Honduras has a Human Development Index of 0.624, placing it 138th globally. In 2022, the National Institute of Statistics of Honduras reported that 73% of the population was living in poverty, with 53% in extreme poverty.
This marks the second instance in two months where Trump has actively endorsed candidates in democratic nations, breaching the usual norm of refraining from meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.
This is certainly not a good practice.
He cannot be forgiven because the United States keeps a military presence in Honduras, using it as a strategic outpost to oppose the Nicaraguan government during the Contra war.
The rule of law and conventions have no place in this world.