the direct complicity of a few traitorous deputies, elected by the people under our banner". The dispute ended when Calíx and the expelled Libre deputies agreed to support Redondo. Castro subsequently had their party membership restored. Presidency (2022–present) Castro was inaugurated as president on 27 January 2022. She was sworn in at the Tegucigalpa National Soccer Stadium, with thousands of individuals present. Among the attendees were King of Spain Felipe VI, Vice President of Taiwan Lai Ching-te, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Vice President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Vice President of Cuba Salvador Valdés Mesa and President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada. Castro is the first female President of Honduras and the first to not be a member of the National or Liberal parties since the restoration of democracy in 1982. During her inaugural address, Castro said, "the economic catastrophe that I'm inheriting is unparalleled in the history of our country." She also promised to combat corruption and inequality which she said was 'rampant' during the rule of the previous National government. Xiomara Castro inherited a deeply corrupt state apparatus, leading her to choose to extradite her predecessor Juan Orlando Hernández to the United States for his links to drug trafficking, rather than hand him over to the Honduran justice system. Her government asked for UN help in setting up an international commission to fight corruption. She is confronted with the strong vulnerability of Honduras to US pressure to keep Honduras within regional free trade regimes and the presence of the US military on its territory. In addition, the Supreme Court, whose members were appointed by previous governments, is obstructing some of her reform plans, such as the amnesty of those convicted for political reasons after the 2009 coup. Economic policy In her inaugural speech, Castro vowed to re-found a democratic socialist state, stating she had a duty to restore an economic system based upon transparency, efficiency of production, social justice in the distribution of wealth and in national income, and that her vision of her world puts the human being before the rules of the market. In February 2022, she halted the eviction of indigenous families in dispute with a businessman over the ownership of a large piece of land south of the capital. She banned open-pit mining in March 2022 due to the extensive damage to the environment. The government also promised to intervene "immediately"