Honduras crisis deepens as right‑wing leader consolidates power amid US‑linked ‘Hondurasgate’

Nasry Asfura of the National Party assumed the Honduran presidency on 27 January, succeeding progressive president Xiomara Castro. In the 30 November election the National Party secured only a thin plurality, a result that analysts say was helped by the electoral council halting vote counts and by U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to cut aid unless Asfura won. Two days before the vote, Trump pardoned former president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving a 45‑year narcotrafficking sentence in the United States.

A cache of 37 leaked audio recordings, dubbed “Hondurasgate,” purports to show Hernández, still in the U.S., coordinating a propaganda campaign against progressive governments in Latin America with Republican officials. The recordings have been deemed partially verified by an independent investigation. The BBC’s recent interview with Hernández yielded no response.

Since taking office, Asfura has moved to control state institutions: Libre‑party member Marlon Ochoa was impeached and forced into exile; the attorney general and Supreme Court president were dismissed; several opposition lawmakers had U.S. visas revoked. Diario RED described the moves as “a political lawfare operation …” and Libre’s press officer called it “state capture.” The audios include a threat allegedly from Hernández: “If we have to kill people so we can have peace of mind, we’ll do it.” Far‑right operative Roger Stone, linked to the pardon, is reported to have called for the kidnapping of former president Castro and her husband.

The developments indicate a reversal toward the “narcostate” model that dominated Honduras after the 2009 coup, raising concerns about democratic backsliding and regional stability.