Vote count under way in Honduras to elect new president in a close race after Trump's intervention

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Poll workers began tallying Hondurans’ votes Sunday evening as the country moved to elect a new president only days after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened in a close race by endorsing a candidate and announcing that he would pardon a former president.

Voting was extended an hour beyond the original closing time in many locations to accommodate remaining voters. No major voting problems were initially reported by electoral authorities. In addition to a new president, voters were casting ballots for a new Congress, as well as hundreds of local positions.

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The presidential contest mostly focused on candidates trading accusations of plans to manipulate the vote until this past week, when Trump endorsed Asfura while attacking his opponents, the latest signal of the United States’ renewed interest in Latin America.

Trump shocked Hondurans Friday by announcing that he would pardon ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was serving a 45-year sentence in a U.S. prison for helping drug traffickers move cocaine to the United States.

It was unclear what impact Trump would have on the election, but it was the latest show of the U.S. government’s willingness to directly involve itself in the region and came at a time of already heightened tensions because of the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and Trump’s threats against Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.

https://apnews.com/article/honduras-election-trump-moncada-nasralla-asfura-5c9bc8331d1f586c0f200f6f6303127a