Choluteca News

A 30-year-old man was found shot dead in Choloma with a sign bearing a message about involvement with married women; authorities are investigating the motive and whether the sign is connected to the killing.

The historic Catholic church in El Corpus, Choluteca, is showing severe cracks, moisture damage, and water seepage; residents fear the 400-year-old structure may collapse and report water flowing beneath the building, fueling local legends of underground tunnels.

The National Anti-Kidnapping Unit rescued a man held for ransom in Linaca, Choluteca, after kidnappers posing as customers demanded 500,000 lempiras (about $20,000); police say the case is one of 17 virtual kidnappings this year, allegedly orchestrated by a transnational network of Colombians and Hondurans.

The farming community of El Tulito in Choluteca faces a second eviction as a cattle company backed by police attempted to seize remaining land on September 1, following a previous eviction on August 6 that destroyed valeriana crops, prompting human-rights lawyers to demand an investigation and legal safeguards.

Óscar Josué Zavala, 18, was fatally shot in the Suyapa neighborhood of Choluteca on August 31; his mother said she had warned him not to go out minutes before he was killed, and two others were also wounded in the attack.

Choluteca's airport runway is being used for unauthorized vehicle racing events while falling into disrepair, with photos showing accumulated trash, overgrown vegetation, and lack of maintenance, raising questions about aeronautical authority oversight.

The Public Ministry's anti-drug directorate and the Armed Forces seized a bundle containing 20 packages of alleged cocaine on a Choluteca beach, recovered abandoned at the shoreline in a black-wrapped package typical of organized-crime maritime drug trafficking.

Police arrested a 27-year-old Choloma resident on an outstanding warrant for drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm; the arrest warrant was issued by a local court in July 2023.

Luis Baca Martínez, a 21-year-old National Police officer assigned to Puerto Cortés, was killed by gunfire on August 17 while off-duty in Hato Nuevo, Choluteca, after he agreed to give a ride to a man whose vehicle was being repaired; investigators say he was also robbed of his motorcycle.

A Honduran extradition judge ordered the provisional arrest of Darwin Espinal del Cid, arrested Monday in Choluteca on a US warrant in connection with the killing of a 23-year-old Guatemalan woman in Pennsylvania, with a hearing set for September 2.

ATIC agents and military intelligence arrested Yasser José Castillo Méndez on charges of aggravated drug trafficking as a member of "Los Castillos," a criminal organization operating in Honduras's southern region.

A 55-year-old woman from El Caracol, Choluteca, was treated for first-degree burns on her thigh and left arm after her son allegedly threw hot water at her; authorities are investigating and the Public Ministry referred her for surgical evaluation.

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake centered about 8 kilometers southeast of Duyure, Choluteca, struck on August 13 at shallow depth of 1 kilometer near the Nicaragua border; authorities are monitoring for aftershocks.

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on Luis Fernando Baquedano, 35, and Elmer Alexander Sánchez Cruz, 33, in Apacilagua on Sunday night, killing both; Baquedano had prior drug-trafficking arrests and played for a local sports club.

The Choluteca River is flowing at dry-season levels despite Honduras being in its rainy season, suggesting insufficient rainfall in the mountains where its tributaries originate.

A forced eviction in Choluteca under Honduras's 2026 Agroindustrial Law has triggered UN and legal scrutiny over whether the law violates constitutional due-process protections and international human-rights standards, with lawyers arguing it prioritizes corporate interests over peasant land rights.

Police in Choloma arrested an 18-year-old laborer during a patrol in the La Pagán neighborhood after finding packages of what they suspect to be marijuana intended for distribution.

About 86 farming families in El Tulito, Choluteca, were evicted under Honduras's new Agro-Industry Protection Law at the request of sugar companies, despite legal challenges and six prior failed eviction attempts before the law took effect.

Communities in Choluteca and Valle say a decade of foreign-financed solar projects has destroyed forests, contaminated water sources, and displaced fishing and farming, yielding only six permanent jobs while Congress debates an electrical-industry law expected to favor private energy companies further.

A motorcyclist died and his female passenger was injured on August 1 after their bike collided with a heavy truck in the Bijao sector of Choloma; authorities are investigating whether the truck driver failed to yield the right of way.

A prolonged drought in San Antonio de Flores, Choluteca, has killed more than 100 cattle since February and forced small ranchers to sell hundreds more as authorities declared a yellow alert and the mayor requested expanded government aid.

Police in Choloma arrested a man accused of dragging a dog behind his vehicle in a video that circulated on social media and sparked public outrage; prosecutors are investigating animal-cruelty charges and will examine the dog's condition.

A doctor at Hospital del Sur in Choluteca defended the medical team's care after a newborn died, saying fetal monitoring showed no distress when the mother was evaluated on July 27 and the cause of death remains undetermined.

The remains of Olvin Ariel Aguilera, a man reported missing by family, were discovered dismembered in El Zapote, San Antonio de Flores, Choluteca.

Hospitals under construction in Choluteca, Colón, and Bay Islands, funded by international development banks, are on track to open in 2027, with Choluteca's regional facility 58% complete and expected to serve 159 beds in oncology and intensive care.

A congressman introduced legislation to reforest the Choluteca River basin, declare it an integrated system requiring coordinated conservation, and ban new logging and land-conversion permits in riparian and protected areas, aiming to reduce drought and flooding impacts on southern Honduras.

The Honduran Foundation for Children with Cancer plans to build a pediatric oncology clinic at the Southern Hospital in Choluteca, with Congressional backing, to allow southern-region children to receive treatment without traveling to Tegucigalpa.

Over 40 years, the Gulf of Fonseca communities of Cedeño and La Puntilla have lost up to 100 meters of coastline to sea-level rise, destroying homes and businesses and driving residents—many of them young people—to migrate to the United States.

Wilson Dubón, 22, was killed Friday night in Choloma when unknown gunmen opened fire to steal his motorcycle, which was not recovered at the scene.

Temperatures in Choluteca and Valle are forecast to reach 40°C (104°F) on July 30, with scattered rainfall in northern and eastern regions; authorities urge hydration and sun protection.