Original article: “Golpe electoral en curso”: Moncada acusa 3 mensajes directos de Trump en su contra y cuestiona libertad de expresidente narco

Electoral Coup Underway: Moncada Accuses Trump of Direct Interference and Questions Former Narco President’s Freedom

Rixi Moncada, the presidential candidate for the ruling party Libertad y Refundación (Libre), has reiterated her allegations of an «electoral coup underway» in Honduras, orchestrated to maintain an oligarchic, narco-political power model managed from abroad.

In an exclusive interview from Tegucigalpa for TeleSur, she detailed various technical irregularities, media manipulation, and external interference led by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has waged a campaign against her.

It is important to recall that on the eve of the general elections in Honduras, the Republican magnate threatened not to cooperate with the Central American nation if Moncada were elected in the elections held last Sunday, conditioning his economic support on a victory for the oligarchy.

Simultaneously, he offered a pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison by U.S. justice for drug trafficking, a promise that he later fulfilled.

“I reiterate my allegations of interference in the electoral process, with Donald Trump’s intervention and his pardon for Juan Orlando Hernández; the desperate bipartisanship is imposing an electoral coup against me. This is a complete electoral coup. An electoral coup that is currently in progress,” stated the educator and lawyer in conversation with journalist Jorge Gestoso.

“Here we have compelling evidence: more than 50 politicians, businesspeople, and members of Congress from the bipartisan system have been convicted in the United States, including former President Juan Orlando Hernández. And now, in the midst of an election, Trump grants a pardon to a convicted individual sentenced to 45 years. How can a judicial system be undermined with a decision against a drug lord accused of importing over 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, only to grant a pardon during elections? This has nothing to do with justice, democracy, or the fight against drug trafficking. It is merely political self-interest,” she condemned.

Trump’s Three Direct Messages Against Moncada

The Libre presidential candidate pointed out that the Republican magnate has issued “three direct messages” against her and the political project she represents, which includes an economic proposal aimed at liberating the people and breaking the privileges of the elite.

“Three direct messages from the President of the United States, practically against me and my proposal, but with an additional component: granting freedom to former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced by U.S. judiciary to 45 years for trafficking over 400 tons of cocaine to the United States during the general elections to define a new government. This is an ongoing electoral coup,” she argued.

She emphasized that through his social media, the occupant of the White House shared three messages saying: “Do not vote for candidate Moncada; I cannot work with her; she is a communist; it is an intervention.”

“Throughout November, we maintained our position with favorable votes in different polls. But 82 hours before the elections, President Trump sent his first message: ‘She is a communist; do not vote for her.’ And he didn’t come alone. He was accompanied by millions of messages sent to people’s phones in Honduras saying: ‘If Rixi Moncada wins, the December remittances will not arrive.’ Honduras has approximately 2.5 million people who receive remittances from the United States,” she described.

The progressivist representative described the campaign led by Trump against her as “extortion, coercion, and blackmail.”

She warned that this model of interference could be replicated in other countries in the region.

“It is a mechanism of intervention that, in my opinion, is a platform they are testing in Honduras to see what results it yields, especially since elections continue in Latin America: Chile, Colombia… This type of intervention has never been seen on such a scale,” she explained.

Honduran Bipartisanship Behind Election Sabotage

Moncada accused the Honduran bipartisanship of orchestrating a plot to sabotage the elections, based on concrete evidence: a series of leaked audios in which National Party electoral adviser Cossette López and other actors planned to alter the process. This plan included disrupting data transmission, pressuring the U.S. embassy not to recognize a Libre victory, and announcing partial results favorable to create a “pretext to contest and suspend the process.”

In her interview with TeleSUR, the lawyer reaffirmed her accusation, stating, “We saw it coming, and it was denounced.”

“Honduras is starting the process of rebuilding institutional integrity following the coup d’état of 2009. A coup occurred here, and that coup was also sponsored by a high level of U.S. intervention. We have a whole history of violent coups. A president was ousted here in 2009 by force of arms. There was foreign involvement. And now, this ongoing electoral coup is something we saw coming, and it was reported at the time,” she recalled.

“So, I am not only confronting the oligarchy here, not just the two candidates. My proposal for economic democratization, for everyone to pay taxes, and to end the privileges of a power group in this country is not just about me; it’s about bringing benefits to the social sectors that have been so affected, especially after the coup. All of this is not just the two candidates. I am facing the oligarchy and the interference of the American people,” she underscored.

Moncada: “I Do Not Accept the Result Transmission System”

After warning that she will not accept the counts from the National Electoral Council (CNE) without verification, the former Defense Minister in the current administration of President Xiomara Castro affirmed that she will utilize all technical, legal, and political mechanisms to ensure all irregularities are brought to light before the official result declaration.

“I reaffirm that I do not accept the result transmission system because it is a rigged, flawed system that internally carries mechanisms that do not allow for a transparent and democratic election. If we add to that the interference that violates all international protocols, all international laws, the Democratic Charter of the OAS (Organization of American States), and the agreements signed by states and nations to respect principles,” she expressed.

In this regard, she expressed hope for clear statements from the OAS and the European Union regarding external interference during the electoral process and warned that failing to do so would mean ignoring the principles they claim to uphold.

“I expect clear statements from the OAS and the European Union. Trump’s interference 72 hours prior to the election, using digital platforms to state, ‘do not vote for Moncada,’ cannot go unnoticed. He violated the Democratic Charter, sovereignty, and self-determination of the people. If observers remain silent, they will be ignoring their own principles,” she emphasized.

Call to Resistance

When asked about the political future of the Libre party, Moncada stated that despite foreign interference, the message of transformation continues to resonate strongly with the Honduran people.

“I am a founding member of this powerful party, Libertad y Refundación, which is participating in an electoral process for the fourth consecutive time with its full national structure. This election has shown that our message resonates strongly, even in the face of brutal interference. We have gained hundreds of thousands of votes. That message will continue to grow. The youth, the party’s structures, the 18 departments… all of this is living strength. This battle is just beginning,” she affirmed.

She also extended a message of encouragement and a call to resistance to other progressive leaders in Latin America facing similar situations, such as Luisa González in Ecuador.

“Resistance, permanent resistance comrades in Honduras and Latin America: permanent and unwavering resistance. This is not a four-year struggle, but a struggle for life. We fight for justice, humanity, rights, and a more dignified world. We will not back down,” she emphasized.