The Honduran government under Mr. Hernández is not new to the business of silencing dissenters. In October, the International Advisory Group of Experts, or Gaipe for its initials in Spanish, published a detailed report on the death of a friend of mine from Honduras, Berta Cáceres. She was murdered because of her efforts as an environmental and indigenous-rights activist. The Gaipe report outlines how the government has been deliberately slow to bring the masterminds behind her killing to justice. They are powerful, well-connected men and women who live above the law under the Hernández government. Ms. Cáceres’s case is emblematic of the impunity and repression that exist in Honduras today, but it is just one of many.

With violence, corruption and repression of civil society as the backdrop, the Honduran people will head to the polls. They will be handed a ballot that illegally lists Mr. Hernández as a candidate, and they are likely to face coercion, intimidation and bribes to sway their vote in favor of the sitting president.

Still, the Honduran people remain engaged. Vibrant political campaigns are being waged. Many brave voters will head to the polls and do everything in their power to make their voices heard. I applaud and admire them.

The international community owes it to these citizens to be prudent, skeptical and well-informed when the election results come in. For far too long, the United States has been quick to support Mr. Hernández blindly, seeing him as a useful partner. He relies on international support, and any indication from the United States and our allies that we might revoke our support could go a long way toward making him rethink his next move.

In plain view of the international community and in blatant defiance of his own government’s founding documents, Mr. Hernández is inching closer and closer to authoritarian rule and all-out dictatorship. If he succeeds in re-electing himself, the United States should make it clear that we see his power grab for what it is. We should withdraw our unconditional support, roll back the millions of dollars we send Honduras in security aid every year and make it clear that we do not tolerate autocratic behavior by our allies.