US restricts visas for two Honduran election officials amid ongoing vote count
State Department says actions aimed at deterring interference as Honduras' presidential race remains unresolved
The Trump administration on Friday restricted visas for two Honduran election officials, citing interference in the Central American country’s special vote count. The State Department said it revoked the visa of Mario Morazán, a magistrate of the Electoral Justice Tribunal, and denied a visa application from Marlon Ochoa, a member of the National Electoral Council. Both officials belong to the LIBRE party, the leftist Liberty and Refoundation movement. “The United States will not tolerate actions that undermine our national security and our region’s stability,” the statement said. “We will consider all appropriate measures to deter those impeding the vote count in Honduras.”
Nearly 20 days after the elections, Hondurans still do not know the results of the presidential race. A special revision of 2,792 ballot boxes is underway because officials say there are inconsistencies and errors. The counting process had been paralyzed for more than a week before the special vote count began on Thursday. With 99.85% of the vote counted, conservative candidate Nasry Asfura of the National Party leads with 40.24%; Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party is at 39.64%; and LIBRE candidate Rixi Moncada trails at 19.12%. Moncada has not recognized the results.
The visa move marks the latest instance of the Trump administration weighing in on Honduran affairs, part of a broader pattern in which Washington has sought to influence the outcome of elections in the region. Over the past year, the administration has shown a willingness to back right-leaning allies while applying pressure to opponents. Trump publicly backed Asfura ahead of the vote, a stance that opponents said amounted to interference in Honduras’ electoral process. Separately, Trump had pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced last year in the United States to 45 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation.
Analysts caution that the ongoing vote-count remains fluid and that foreign interventions—whether through visa actions or political endorsements—keep the Honduran process in sharp international focus. As the special count continues to address alleged inconsistencies in thousands of ballots, the final outcome remains uncertain and could hinge on how the remaining disputed boxes are resolved and how parties respond in the days ahead.