Who is Nasry Asfura, Honduras' possible next president of Palestinian descent?

The Central American nation of Honduras could see itself led by a president of Palestinian origin if Nasry Asfura wins the next election.

The right-wing Asfura is up against the centrist former Vice President of Honduras, Salvador Nasralla, who is of Lebanese heritage, and Rixi Moncada, the leftist former Minister of Defence.

Asfura and Nasralla are currently neck and neck with votes from around 57% of polling places counted.

Asfura, the leader of the conservative National Party of Honduras (PNH), has been endorsed by US President Donald Trump and the right-wing populist president of Argentina, Javier Milei.

Trump has threatened to cut funding to the country, where 63 percent of the population lives under the poverty line, if his preferred candidate doesn’t win.

The presidential race has been marred by accusations of fraud in a country where corruption runs rife, as well as foreign intervention by way of Trump, following his comments.

"If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad," the US President said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

But who is Asfura, one of the many politicians in Latin America who are of Middle Eastern heritage? The New Arab takes a look.

Born into Honduras's Palestinian community

Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah was born in 1958 in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa to Palestinian Christian parents. Honduras, like many Central and South American countries, is home to a significant Palestinian and Arab diaspora.

The community numbers at around 280,000, making Honduras the Latin American country with the second-highest number of people of Palestinian heritage after Chile.

Aside from Asfura, businessman Miguel Facusse Barjum and environmentalist Jeanette Kawas are some of the most high-profile Palestinian Hondurans. Former president Carlos Roberto Flores, who served between 1994 and 1998, was also of Palestinian ancestry.

Asfura, nicknamed 'Tito,' studied civil engineering but failed to complete his studies and entered public life in the 1990s in the Central District Mayor's Office, holding operational and managerial positions in various municipal administrations.

Analysts say that this initial period in local government solidified his pragmatic style, focused on project execution and practical problem-solving, according to BBC Mundo.

While working in local government, Asfura also established himself as a businessman in the construction sector.

Prior to his 2025 presidential candidacy, Asfura served as the mayor of Tegucigalpa between 2014 and 2022. He was also the presidential candidate for the National Party during the 2022 election, where he finished second to outgoing President Xiomara Castro.

Before that, he ran in the 2005 National Party primaries for mayor of the Central District, where he coined the catchphrase "¡Papi, a la orden!", translating to "Daddy at your service" – intended to convey approachability and a sense of service towards everyday people.

The slogan has since become his trademark, and he has used it during the 2025 presidential campaign.

The conservative candidate has pledged to create more jobs, attract foreign investment, and strengthen police capabilities in Honduras, which has Central America’s highest homicide rate.

He also vowed to align himself with the US, in contrast with Castro’s closeness to China.

If elected, his National Party will also likely re-adopt a pro-Israel approach in a similar fashion to former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is currently serving a lengthy jail term in the US for drug trafficking offences but has recently been pardoned by Trump.

Hernandez had relocated Honduras' embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a controversial move in 2021, following in Trump's footsteps. 

Xiomara Castro, who succeeded Hernandez in 2022, has criticised Israel’s brutal military onslaught in Gaza during her presidential tenure.

If voted, Asfura will join a long list of Latin American leaders of Middle Eastern descent.

Latin America's long line of Arab-descendent leaders

Neighbouring El Salvador currently has Nayib Bukele as its president.

Of Palestinian heritage, Bukele has been compared in the West with Trump due to their populist styles of leadership, and has been labelled as authoritarian by some critics.

El Salvador’s president between 2004 and 2009, Antonio Saca, was also of Palestinian heritage.

Other presidents of Arab descent in Latin America include Carlos Menem, who served as President of Argentina between 1989 and 1999. Menem was born to parents from Yarboud, Syria and was raised Muslim. However, he converted to Roman Catholicism in order to pursue a political career in Argentina.

Michel Temer, of Lebanese ancestry, served as Brazil’s president between 2016 and 2019. His parents immigrated from the village of Btaaboura in Lebanon’s Koura District, in the 1920s.

In addition, Ecuador’s president between 1998 and 2000, Jamil Mahuad, was also of partial Lebanese heritage.

Others include Abdala Bucaram, the former president of Ecuador, and Colombia’s president between 1978 and 1982, Julio Cesar Turbay.

The Latin American region saw large waves of migration in the 19th and 20th centuries from the Middle East, particularly from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, who mostly left for economic reasons.

Today, between 17 and 20 million across the Hispanophone and Lusophone sphere in Latin America are of Arab heritage, and are deeply integrated within society and culture, holding positions in politics, business, entertainment, and sport.