National News

Olimpia won the inaugural Honduras Supercopa championship on July 23, defeating Motagua 1–0, and received $40,000 (L1.071 million) in prize money to support its campaign.

Honduras's banking commission (CNBS) is preparing regulations for cryptocurrency and virtual-asset companies through reforms to anti-money-laundering law, aiming to meet international standards ahead of a Financial Action Task Force evaluation in August and prevent illicit fund flows.

Deputy Alia Kafati announced she will withdraw a bill that would have regulated presidential reelection, asserting that the Honduran Constitution prohibits the practice entirely.

Climate experts say El Niño will intensify between October and November, bringing little relief to Honduras's drought-stricken dry corridor, where farmers report near-total crop losses and warn the crisis will persist for decades without adaptation measures.

Honduran onion growers met with the Agriculture Ministry to press for relief from imports they say threaten local planting and supply.

Juan Carlos Hernández, president of Honduras's economics association, says family remittances have strengthened household purchasing ability for food, education, and health, and reduced demand for consumer credit.

Former president Juan Orlando Hernández, freed after a US pardon erased his 45-year drug-trafficking sentence, will return voluntarily to Honduras this Sunday to face domestic charges of fraud and money laundering, after a Honduran judge suspended the international arrest warrant against him.

Five months after the Attorney General's office submitted a draft modernizing Honduras's public-contracting rules—with digital tools, certified suppliers, and tighter controls—Congress says it has not yet received the formal executive version needed to begin legislative review.

Social Security patients are spending L3,000–L6,000 monthly (about $120–$240) out of pocket for medications and supplies due to treatment delays, with chronic and cancer patients most severely affected by administrative backlogs and supply shortages.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $83.5 million in its weekly foreign-exchange offering, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.7824 per dollar for July 25–27.

Honduras deposited its ratification of the ICSID convention on July 17, becoming the 159th state to join the World Bank dispute-settlement mechanism for foreign-investment disputes, effective August 16.

Honduras's basic food basket increased from L14,500 to L16,000 between December 2025 and July 2026, according to Artículo 19, with meat, dairy, beans, and vegetables driving the cost surge and squeezing household buying power.

Credit to Honduras's private sector is growing, with most new lending to businesses concentrated in services, real estate, and agriculture, the Central Bank reports.

Honduras's foreign-currency inflows grew compared to a year earlier, driven chiefly by robust family remittances, while outflows grew at a slower pace, producing a net positive currency gap.

Honduras's Criminal Investigation Directorate reported 118 arrests of suspects linked to murders of women through July 2026, the result of nationwide investigative operations and intelligence work.

Forward Bryan Sáenz, 20, has departed Honduran club Olimpia after obtaining US residency, joining nine other players who have left the team ahead of the new season.

Honduras has confirmed 12 measles cases—six imported and six locally acquired—and health officials say they screen suspected cases daily, warning that one infected person can spread the virus to up to 18 others and urging continued vaccination.

Cohep President Anabel Gallardo said Honduras escaped an additional 2.5% tariff hike from the United States but warned that some sectors still face 10% duties and need continued trade negotiations to improve conditions.

Ricardo Cardona, private secretary to ex-president Juan Orlando Hernández, returned to Honduras after four years in Nicaragua, denying any criminal charges despite multiple open corruption investigations against him.

The Agriculture Ministry's health agency (Senasa) is training veterinarians, importers, and customs agents on requirements and procedures for importing animal products and veterinary medicines to strengthen biosecurity and ensure compliance with import controls.

The Supreme Court of Justice has decided to transfer the case against former president Juan Orlando Hernández to the corruption court after he lost his immunity as a member of the Central American Parliament, moving it to ordinary jurisdiction.

President Nasry Asfura called on lawmakers to pass reforms to the Electricity Sector Law to address the state power utility ENEE's monthly losses of approximately 1.2 billion lempiras (about $48 million), which he said strain the government's capacity to fund health, education, and infrastructure.

A trough on Friday and an incoming tropical wave on Saturday will bring scattered to moderate rain to most of Honduras through Sunday, with daytime temperatures reaching 38°C (100°F) in the south, though forecasters say the rainfall will not relieve the ongoing drought affecting 75 municipalities.

The National Autonomous University of Honduras warns that rainfall could drop 30–40% below average starting in October across the Dry Corridor, the south, and Tegucigalpa as El Niño strengthens, threatening water supplies and the autumn harvest.

The Public Ministry will formally question former Deputy Security Minister Julissa Villanueva and demand she submit evidence she claims to hold about the disappearance of Angie Peña, after she publicly accused the Criminal Investigation Agency (ATIC) of obstructing the investigation.

A court rejected ex-prosecutor Francia Sofía Medina's request to be released pending sentencing in the BCH vault-theft case, though her lawyer argues she has already spent the legal maximum of 2.5 years in pretrial detention and filed an appeal.

A man and woman were convicted of sexual assault, aggravated assault, and family violence against three children ages 6, 9, and 12, with the stepfather receiving 43.5 years and his partner an additional sentence.

President Nasry Asfura stated that the government will receive former president Juan Orlando Hernández upon his return on July 26 as it does any Honduran citizen, without addressing the legal proceedings Hernández faces in the Pandora II fraud and money-laundering case.

Defense Minister Enrique Rodríguez Burchard announced a 30% salary increase for enlisted soldiers, adding approximately 3,000 lempiras (about $120) monthly at a cost of over 570 million lempiras, effective July 2026.

Honduras's energy ministry announced new fuel prices effective July 27, with gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and vehicle gas rising by up to 5.59 lempiras per gallon in San Pedro Sula, while the government maintains temporary subsidies on regular gasoline and diesel.