The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, congratulated the conservative Nasry 'Tito' Asfura on his electoral victory in Honduras this Thursday and expressed his desire to work together for the benefit of both Central American nations.
Asfura, 67, was declared the virtual president-elect of Honduras for the 2026-2030 period on Wednesday. He had to wait 24 days since the November 30 elections, which were marred by allegations of "fraud" even before the vote, threats against two electoral council members, and the alleged "interference" of U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly expressed his support for Asfura.
He will succeed the current president, Xiomara Castro, from the leftist Libre party, who will hand over power on January 27, as she herself stated in a Christmas message, reiterating that she will remain "in this office as President of the Republic, as the Constitution mandates, until January 27, 2026, not one day more, not one day less."
Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic also congratulated Asfura on Wednesday, wishing for a "peaceful and orderly transition" in Honduras, according to a joint communiqué.
Known as "Papi a la orden," Asfura, a former mayor of Tegucigalpa and candidate for the conservative National Party, obtained 40.26% of the vote and narrowly defeated Salvador Nasralla of the also conservative Liberal Party, who garnered 39.54%. With 99.93% of the ballots counted, according to data from the National Electoral Council (CNE).
