TEGUCIGALPA — President Xiomara Castro of Honduras issued a scathing condemnation of the United States on Saturday, following reports of a large-scale U.S. military operation in Venezuela that allegedly resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
In a statement that marks a significant diplomatic rift in the region, Castro characterized the American intervention as a "moral defeat" for international law and a direct assault on Latin American sovereignty.
"Imperial Colonialism" and Sovereign Rights
The Honduran leader did not mince words, describing the events in Caracas as "barbarism" and an act of "imperial colonialism."
"The military aggression by the United States against the people of Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, constitutes an affront to the sovereignty and independence of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean," Castro stated.
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She further asserted that the operation represents an "absolute disregard" for the United Nations Charter, expressing her full solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the Maduro administration.
Allegations of U.S. Interference in Honduras
President Castro’s statement also turned inward, accusing the U.S. administration—specifically President Donald Trump—of orchestrating a "descomunal" (colossal) electoral fraud in Honduras.
Castro alleged that the U.S. intervened directly in the recent Honduran electoral process to sabotage the candidacy of Rixi Moncada. According to the President:
Direct Threats: She claimed President Trump threatened the Honduran people during the election cycle to discourage them from voting for Moncada.
4 Electoral Fraud: She accused Washington of backing a fraudulent outcome that has "gravely wounded" the nation's "already fragile democracy."
Injustice: Castro contrasted the U.S. pursuit of Maduro with the recent pardoning of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, whom she views as a symbol of the "narco-dictatorship" her party fought to dismantle.
Regional Tensions Escalate
The statement from Tegucigalpa follows a chaotic 24 hours in which President Trump announced via social media that U.S. forces had successfully carried out strikes in Venezuela and detained Maduro to face criminal charges in New York.
While the U.S. celebrates the operation as a victory against "narco-terrorism," leaders like Castro view it as a dangerous return to Cold War-era interventionism.
