(JEWISH VOICE NEWS) U.S. President Donald Trump has intervened in Honduras’ presidential election by endorsing conservative candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura and announcing a pardon for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in the United States of major drug trafficking crimes, AP reported.

Hernández, a member of the conservative National Party, was sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. federal prison after a New York trial that detailed his role in facilitating the shipment of tons of cocaine into the United States. Prosecutors said Hernández used his presidential powers to provide protection for traffickers, accept bribes, and suppress investigations, making him one of the most powerful political figures in Honduras linked to international drug networks, AP reported.

Before Trump’s intervention, the Honduran election had been dominated by concerns over electoral credibility. The leading candidates—Asfura, Rixi Moncada of the leftist LIBRE party, and Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party—had all raised doubts about the vote-counting process, AP reported.

Trump’s endorsement of Asfura seemed to strengthen conservative support, but Hernández’s pardon was widely seen as unpredictable. It could energize the National Party base, or it could remind voters of the party’s history of corruption and criminal ties, AP reported.

Moncada, former finance and defense secretary under President Xiomara Castro, sharply criticized Trump’s move, portraying it as interference by organized crime and Honduras’ elite economic families. Hernández had been arrested weeks after leaving office at the direction of the Castro administration, which sought to limit his influence. Moncada called Hernández “the biggest capo in the history of Honduras” and said the pardon was a last-minute attempt to sway voters, AP reported.

Nasralla, running for the fourth time, sought to position himself as an outsider independent from corruption. “I don’t answer to dark pacts, or corrupt networks or criminals who have killed our people,” he said, AP reported.

On the streets of Tegucigalpa, reactions were mixed. Fruit vendor Adalid Ávila expressed continued respect for Hernández, citing public works projects like bridges and tunnels, and said he planned to vote for Asfura. Nurse Melany Martínez criticized the pardon as unjust, insisting that Hondurans should make their own decision at the ballot box, AP reported.

Experts suggested that Trump’s intervention might have limited impact on voters’ decisions. Oliver Erazo, a law professor at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, said the electorate’s preferences, particularly toward the National and Liberal parties, had largely been set in the weeks leading up to the election, AP reported.

Hernández’s U.S. conviction revealed deep ties between Honduran politics and international drug trafficking. Prosecutors detailed how he coordinated with major drug cartels, diverted public funds, and manipulated law enforcement to protect illegal operations. The pardon, coming just days before the election, has added an unexpected twist to the political landscape in Honduras, AP reported.