'Hondurasgate' leaks reveal Israeli destabilization scheme
"Hondurasgate"—an apparent plot involving Israel, the United States, and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) to destabilize Latin America's progressive governments through disinformation—has thrust Israel's ties to the region back into the spotlight. The scandal emerged ahead of a diplomatic visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Central America as part of a push to consolidate alliances with the region's right-wing leaders.
The scandal centers on leaked audio recordings obtained by the outlet Diario Red, which allegedly capture conversations between JOH, current Honduran President Nasry Asfura, and Vice President María Antionieta Mejía discussing a plan to undermine progressive governments in the region through a media disinformation campaign. The recordings appear to indicate that Israel played a direct role in the scheme.
JOH—who had been sentenced to 45 years in US federal prison on drug trafficking charges before being pardoned by Trump in late November, a move widely interpreted as intervention in Honduras' elections—apparently claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helped secure his release. The scheme reportedly sought to create a JOH-led media channel to spread fake news against left-wing leaders in the region while opening up Honduran land to foreign investment. Argentina's far-right President Javier Milei, who has described himself as "the most Zionist president in the world," was also allegedly involved.
The scandal unfolded just as Herzog embarked on a highly successful diplomatic tour of Central America. After stopping in Panama, Herzog attended last week's inauguration of Costa Rican President Laura Fernández, whose right-wing government appears poised to deepen ties to Israel. Fernández held the first official meeting of her presidency with Herzog and pledged to move Costa Rica's embassy to Jerusalem, crossing a long-standing diplomatic red-line given that much of the city remains occupied territory and is not internationally recognized as Israel's capital. Herzog also met in Costa Rica with Chilean President José Antonio Kast, who vowed to restore diplomatic ties with Israel after his predecessor Gabriel Boric recalled Chile's ambassador in protest of the war in Gaza. Herzog likewise met in Costa Rica with Asfura, an ardent Zionist of Palestinian descent who has already visited Israel and affirmed his intention to strengthen diplomatic ties with Israel.
The trip underscored a broader regional shift. In the immediate aftermath of Israel's genocidal response to the October 7 attacks, Latin America's progressive governments emerged as some of the strongest international critics of the Israeli state. Leaders from Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Honduras and Chile either withdrew their ambassadors from Israel or suspended diplomatic ties entirely. But many of the region's new right-wing governments are now reversing those measures, weakening what had been a significant international front of opposition to Israel's war.
At the same time, Israel's violence continues to reverberate directly in the region. Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, one of the leaders of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was detained by Israeli forces after participating in a humanitarian aid mission bound for Gaza. The flotilla set sail from Spain weeks ago, but after 22 boats were stopped near Crete on April 30, Israeli forces transferred 168 activists to Greece while taking Ávila and the Spanish activist Saif Abu Keshek to Israel for further interrogation. Both men were released last week after investigations into alleged ties with terrorist organizations, but they claim they were tortured during their detention—and described the far worse conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners. Israel's treatment of Ávila reignited calls within Brazil for President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva to move beyond critical rhetoric to a fully sever ties with Israel. As Israel deepens relations with Latin America's ascendant right wing, accountability for the ongoing destruction in Gaza appears increasingly out of reach.
From NACLA Update, May 15. Lightly edited, internal links added.
Arrest of 'MAGA's man in Latin America'
Fernando Cerimedo, a far-right media entrepreneur who has been a political adviser to several of the region’s far-right leaders, was arrested in Bolivia on Aug. 18 following an attempt on the life of Nadia Beller, a lawyer and political activist with whom he once had a romantic relationship. Beller, who miraculously survived being shot multiple times at close range by two men disguised as delivery drivers, immediately blamed Cerimedo for the attack. Cerimedo was in Bolivia working as an adviser to President Rodrigo Paz, and was trying to travel home to Argentina when he was arrested. Cerimedo is a key member of the so-called "reactionary international"; he is the co-owner of the influential right-wing outlet La Derecha Diario, known for spreading fake news and election propaganda, and reportedly advised right-wing leaders in Argentina, Honduras, Brazil and Chile. His arrest on charges of ordering Beller's murder has sent shockwaves across the region—Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed to the arrest as evidence of the right-wing opposition’s shady tactics; reports of an alleged corruption scheme involving the Bolivian and Argentine governments began to circulate; and rumors of alleged CIA ties to Cerimedo bubbled to the surface. (NACLA Report)
Panamerican Congress responds to regional rise of right
Last weekend, more than 150 representatives from 15 countries gathered in Montevideo, Uruguay for the "Panamerican Congress," a regional conference promoting dialogue between the hemisphere's progressive forces. This is the third such conference after similar events in Bogotá in 2024 and Mexico in 2025. Participants pushed for more equal dialogue between the Global North and Global South and the construction of wide coalitions and alternative mechanisms through which to defend a crumbling international order. The event took place at an extremely difficult moment for the regional left; in the year that has passed since the last conference, the left has lost power in Bolivia, Honduras, Chile, and Colombia. Nevertheless, as reported by the New York Times, hope came from an unlikely place: the recent wave of progressive victories from democratic socialists in the United States. Indeed, soon-to-be congressional representatives Darializa Avila Chevalier (D-NY), Claire Valdez (D-NY), Chris Rabb (D-PA), and Adam Hamawy (D-NJ) were all in attendance; their Latin American counterparts repeatedly cited their victories as demonstrative of the type of politics the left needs to reclaim. (NACLA Update)
Honduras: charges dropped against JOH
A court in Honduras Sept. 1 dropped fraud and money laundering charges against former President Juan Orlando Hernández. The ruling marked the latest in a string of stunning legal victories for Hernández, who led the country from 2014 to 2022 before being extradited to the United States and convicted on drug trafficking charges. In the lead-up to the country's presidential elections in November 2025, Trump pardoned Hernández in a direct ploy to interfere with the elections, a vote that culminated in the ascension to power of Nasry Asfura, an ally of Hernández. After he was freed from US custody and his arrest warrant was suspended, Hernández returned to Honduras in July to face corruption charges stemming from his first presidential campaign. The judge ruled that JOH had not increased his assets nor laundered any money. Hernández was greeted by large crowds outside the court, who cheered the ruling, although many others protested; he boasted that his "political persecution" had finally come to an end. (NACLA Update)
Foro Madrid far-right confab
On Sept. 3, Argentine President Javier Milei gave a scathing address during the opening proceedings of the Madrid Forum, an organization of far-right intellectuals, activists and politicians that gathered for a two-day conference in Santiago de Chile. Milei cast progressivism as an "existential threat" and spoke fondly of Chile's time under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It is no surprise that Chile is hosting the conference. Its current far-right President, José Antonio Kast, was one of the original signatories of the "Madrid Charter" in 2020, which eventually birthed the organization. The date, too, held significance, as the proceedings marked four years since Chileans rejected a new constitution in a vote that came to be known as the rechazo. Kast's appearance at the far-right conference has divided the Chilean right, many of whom fear he will ramp up his inflammatory rhetoric. The conference came at a time when the region's right-wing leaders—like Milei, Kast and Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz—have been damaged by their ties to Fernando Cerimedo, a far-right media strategist who was recently arrested in Bolivia for allegedly hiring hitmen to murder his ex-girlfriend, Nadia Beller. Since surviving the attempt on her life, Beller has provided information on a wide range of corruption scandals that have reverberated across the region. (NACLA Update)