By Ginika Igboke

President Donald Trump met with newly elected Honduran President Nasry “Tito” Asfura at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 7, highlighting what he described as shared political values and common priorities on security, migration, and economic cooperation.

“It was my Great Honor to support Tito’s Campaign,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social following the meeting. “Once I gave him my strong Endorsement, he won his Election! Tito and I share many of the same America First Values.”

Asfura, a conservative politician and businessman of Palestinian descent, was sworn in as president of Honduras on Jan. 27 after winning a closely contested election. The 67-year-old campaigned on pledges to combat poverty, corruption, and violent crime while strengthening Honduras’s struggling economy.

Trump emphasized the two leaders’ alignment on security issues, particularly cooperation against transnational crime and illegal migration.

“We have a close partnership on Security, working together to counter dangerous Cartels and Drug Traffickers, and deporting Illegal Migrants and Gang Members out of the United States,” Trump said. He added that the pair also discussed trade and investment ties between the two countries, as well as Asfura’s focus on improving health care, education, and economic opportunity for Hondurans.

Trump said he looks forward to welcoming Asfura to the White House in the future.

Honduras remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with high levels of poverty, crime, and outward migration. Asfura previously served as mayor of Tegucigalpa and narrowly defeated centrist candidate Salvador Nasralla in the November 2025 election by about 26,000 votes.

The election was marked by controversy and delays. Asfura was not declared the winner until weeks after Election Day because roughly 15 percent of tally sheets required manual counting due to technical issues. The process sparked protests by supporters of the leftist LIBRE party, which backed ruling party candidate Rixi Moncada, who finished third with 19.28 percent of the vote. Demonstrators attempted to block access to stored ballots during the recount.

Asfura is set to serve a five-year term, running through January 2030.

His visit to the United States comes just over a month after the U.S. State Department revoked the visa of one Honduran official and denied the visa application of another over allegations of interference in the 2025 presidential election. The two men, Mario Morazán and Marlon Ochoa, are members of the LIBRE party and were involved in bodies overseeing the election.

The visa actions were authorized under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the United States to deny entry to individuals whose activities are deemed to pose potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.

Original article