Tegucigalpa (AFP) – Nasry Asfura, a conservative businessman backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared winner of the Honduran presidential vote Wednesday, weeks after a razor-thin election marred by delays and allegations of fraud.
Issued on: 24/12/2025 -RFI
Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Asfura has been declared winner in a razor tight election where he had US President Donald Trump's support © Orlando SIERRA / AFP
Asfura, a 67-year-old son of Palestinian immigrants, defeated fellow conservative TV personality Salvador Nasralla, who had demanded a full recount due to alleged irregularities.
The plenary session of the national electoral council CNE "declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah elected for a four-year term," the council's president Ana Paola Hall said.
"Honduras: I'm ready to govern, I won't let you down," Asfura posted to X after the win was declared, thanking election officials for validating his victory.
Asfura prevailed with just 40.1 percent of the vote, narrowly beating Nasralla at 39.5 percent, according to the official results.
Rixi Moncada, a lawyer from the leftist Libre Party, which currently runs the government, trailed in third with 19.2 percent.
Within minutes of the result declaration, the United States welcomed the election of Asfura, saying it would help stop illegal immigration.
"We look forward to working with his incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen the economic ties between our two countries," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Following the lengthy counting process in the Central American country's election, Rubio called on all sides to "respect the confirmed results so that Honduran authorities may swiftly ensure a peaceful transition of authority."
Asfura's new term begins on January 27.
Tensions
The result was announced more than three weeks after the November 30 vote. The wait for the results has caused tensions among Hondurans, and the sluggish count has been accompanied by claims of irregularities and voter fraud.
Honduras president-elect Nasry Asfura, seen here after voting in Tegucigalpa on November 30, 2025, was declared the winner following a weeks-long recount process that raised tensions and triggered claims of fraud © Johny MAGALLANES / AFP/File
The recount of nearly 2,800 tally sheets with suspected inconsistencies was pored over by hundreds of electoral staff and political delegates to determine the winner.
The CNE had had until December 30 to declare a winner.
Last week, thousands of supporters of the leftist Libre Party of outgoing President Xiomara Castro staged a demonstration in the capital Tegucigalpa to protest what they consider "fraud" in the vote.
On the eve of the election, Trump in a surprise move pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, a member of Asfura's party who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.
Extradited by Honduras to face justice in the United States, Hernandez insists he had been set up by the previous administration of US president Joe Biden because of his conservative policies.
The pardon was widely seen as contradicting Trump's crackdown on alleged drug traffickers in Latin America.
Trump also endorsed Asfura, saying they could "work together to fight the narcocommunists," and warned "there will be hell to pay" if the conservative candidate's razor-thin lead was overturned in the count.
© 2025 AFP
The recount of nearly 2,800 tally sheets with suspected inconsistencies was pored over by hundreds of electoral staff and political delegates to determine the winner.
The CNE had had until December 30 to declare a winner.
Last week, thousands of supporters of the leftist Libre Party of outgoing President Xiomara Castro staged a demonstration in the capital Tegucigalpa to protest what they consider "fraud" in the vote.
On the eve of the election, Trump in a surprise move pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, a member of Asfura's party who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.
Extradited by Honduras to face justice in the United States, Hernandez insists he had been set up by the previous administration of US president Joe Biden because of his conservative policies.
The pardon was widely seen as contradicting Trump's crackdown on alleged drug traffickers in Latin America.
Trump also endorsed Asfura, saying they could "work together to fight the narcocommunists," and warned "there will be hell to pay" if the conservative candidate's razor-thin lead was overturned in the count.
© 2025 AFP
'At your service!' Nasry Asfura becomes Honduran president-elect
Tegucigalpa (AFP) – It took longer than expected, but Nasry Asfura has gone from businessman to mayor to president-elect of Honduras, carrying the blessing of US President Donald Trump who has described him as a "friend of freedom."
Issued on: 24/12/2025 - RFI
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Honduras president-elect Nasry Asfura's business and political career has been clouded by allegations of graft, though he has never been prosecuted © Marvin RECINOS / AFP
Capping a career shadowed by corruption claims, but never prosecuted, the 67-year-old conservative ascended to the Central American country's top job on his second attempt, having lost out to leftist Xiomara Castro in 2021.
More than three weeks after the election, Asfura held his razor-thin edge and was declared the winner Wednesday over fellow conservative Salvador Nasralla, a 72-year-old TV star, by the plenary session of the national electoral council.
Asfura rose to the top as the head of the right-wing National Party (PN), which was tainted by the US imprisonment of a former leader, Juan Orlando Hernandez, for drug trafficking.
Hernandez, however, walked out of prison a free man in early December after receiving a pardon from Trump, who embraced Asfura as an ally in the fight against "narcocommunists."
"The only real friend of freedom in Honduras is Tito Asfura," Trump had written on Truth Social, referring to the politician by his nickname.
He added: "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras" -- one of Latin America's most impoverished and violent countries.
Asfura returned the PN to power, leaving the ruling leftist party out in the cold in a region where voters tired of hardship and crime have been punishing incumbent parties.
'Nothing to hide'
Asfura, a former two-time mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa, ran a campaign with promises to "save democracy" from the left, which the Latin American right associates with authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
He claims to lead a "renewed" party and has denied links to Hernandez, though after Trump's pardon, he expressed hope it would "bring hope and peace of mind to the family" of the former president.
The son of Palestinian immigrants, Asfura was born on June 8, 1958, in Tegucigalpa.
He studied civil engineering at the National University but dropped out to start what would become one of the country's largest construction companies.
Later, as mayor, he was credited with building bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure to ease congestion in the city of over a million inhabitants.
He was also accused of embezzling municipal funds, but the Supreme Court decided not to send the case to trial.
Asfura was later mentioned in the 2021 "Pandora Papers" list of offshore companies used to evade taxes, but was never charged.
"I owe nothing, I fear nothing. I have nothing to hide," he once asserted.
'Work and more work'
Grey-haired and mustachioed, Asfura is reputed to be a hard worker. He usually wears a light blue shirt, jeans, and dusty boots.
In his speeches, he promises "work and more work" for Hondurans, to develop infrastructure, and to attract investments to generate employment.
Those who know him say he is passionate about music and a man of few words but much action.
He greets supporters who approach him with his trademark phrase: "At your service!"
Asfura has described himself as "allergic" to smartphones, preferring to use a landline, and has not embraced social media campaigning.
He is married to Lissette del Cid, with whom he has three daughters and three grandchildren.
© 2025 AFP
Tegucigalpa (AFP) – It took longer than expected, but Nasry Asfura has gone from businessman to mayor to president-elect of Honduras, carrying the blessing of US President Donald Trump who has described him as a "friend of freedom."
Issued on: 24/12/2025 - RFI
\
Honduras president-elect Nasry Asfura's business and political career has been clouded by allegations of graft, though he has never been prosecuted © Marvin RECINOS / AFPCapping a career shadowed by corruption claims, but never prosecuted, the 67-year-old conservative ascended to the Central American country's top job on his second attempt, having lost out to leftist Xiomara Castro in 2021.
More than three weeks after the election, Asfura held his razor-thin edge and was declared the winner Wednesday over fellow conservative Salvador Nasralla, a 72-year-old TV star, by the plenary session of the national electoral council.
Asfura rose to the top as the head of the right-wing National Party (PN), which was tainted by the US imprisonment of a former leader, Juan Orlando Hernandez, for drug trafficking.
Hernandez, however, walked out of prison a free man in early December after receiving a pardon from Trump, who embraced Asfura as an ally in the fight against "narcocommunists."
"The only real friend of freedom in Honduras is Tito Asfura," Trump had written on Truth Social, referring to the politician by his nickname.
He added: "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras" -- one of Latin America's most impoverished and violent countries.
Asfura returned the PN to power, leaving the ruling leftist party out in the cold in a region where voters tired of hardship and crime have been punishing incumbent parties.
'Nothing to hide'
Asfura, a former two-time mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa, ran a campaign with promises to "save democracy" from the left, which the Latin American right associates with authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
He claims to lead a "renewed" party and has denied links to Hernandez, though after Trump's pardon, he expressed hope it would "bring hope and peace of mind to the family" of the former president.
The son of Palestinian immigrants, Asfura was born on June 8, 1958, in Tegucigalpa.
He studied civil engineering at the National University but dropped out to start what would become one of the country's largest construction companies.
Later, as mayor, he was credited with building bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure to ease congestion in the city of over a million inhabitants.
He was also accused of embezzling municipal funds, but the Supreme Court decided not to send the case to trial.
Asfura was later mentioned in the 2021 "Pandora Papers" list of offshore companies used to evade taxes, but was never charged.
"I owe nothing, I fear nothing. I have nothing to hide," he once asserted.
'Work and more work'
Grey-haired and mustachioed, Asfura is reputed to be a hard worker. He usually wears a light blue shirt, jeans, and dusty boots.
In his speeches, he promises "work and more work" for Hondurans, to develop infrastructure, and to attract investments to generate employment.
Those who know him say he is passionate about music and a man of few words but much action.
He greets supporters who approach him with his trademark phrase: "At your service!"
Asfura has described himself as "allergic" to smartphones, preferring to use a landline, and has not embraced social media campaigning.
He is married to Lissette del Cid, with whom he has three daughters and three grandchildren.
© 2025 AFP
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