National News

Tourism Minister Andrés Ehrler announced that Honduras anticipates receiving about 20,000 visitors from El Salvador during the first week of August, a projection officials say will boost tourism activity and economic activity across the country's destinations.

The Latin American Development Bank approved $400 million to support Honduras's Comprehensive Social Housing Program, which aims to finance affordable, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable homes.

Union leader Evangelina Argueta warned that potential US tariffs on Honduran textile exports could raise production costs and threaten thousands of jobs in an industry already reeling from 60,000 layoffs, and called for urgent tripartite talks between government, workers, and employers.

The national utility announced planned power cuts on July 24 across Francisco Morazán, Olancho, Santa Bárbara, Ocotepeque, and Cortés for scheduled maintenance work, with outages in Tegucigalpa lasting 6–8 hours.

Presidential trade commissioner Melvin Redondo said Honduras has complied with legal requirements in a US tariff review affecting 17–20% of exports and has passed a decree banning imports from forced-labor conditions to avoid a potential 12.5% increase.

The private-sector business council says Honduras should borrow the $400 million CAF financing to strengthen the housing bank and spur construction, but opposes debt used only to cover government operating costs.

Congress has reactivated L100,000 (about $4,000) per-legislator social-aid funds under a new oversight framework where lawmakers serve only as liaisons, with an anti-corruption council helping draft accountability rules.

A Libre congresswoman said her party opposes electoral law reforms presented to Congress this week unless Libre gains representation on the National Electoral Council and Electoral Justice Court, arguing it merits a seat as one of the three largest political forces.

UNAH rector Odir Fernández says the university faces a budget crisis from L1.44 billion (about $58 million) in delayed state transfers this year and unclear funding from a promised presidential-aircraft sale meant for regional campus expansion.

Honduras's agricultural health agency has processed 5,312 laboratory samples and monitored over 8.5 million birds across 125 farms to detect high-pathogenicity H5 avian influenza, focusing on rural communities and backyard flocks deemed most vulnerable to the virus's spread.

Honduras's Court of Appeals confirmed the definitive dismissal of former president Porfirio Lobo in the Pandora II graft case, while the prosecution of former president Juan Orlando Hernández in the same matter continues.

Honduras received 23,952 deported nationals between January and June 2026, a 40% increase from the same period in 2025, while irregular migrant transit through the country fell 74% according to the International Organization for Migration.

Honduras's power utility ENEE loses more than L17 billion (about $680 million) annually to technical inefficiencies and electricity theft, representing 35% of total output; Congress is advancing reforms to reorganize ENEE into subsidiary units for generation, transmission, and distribution, strengthen the regulatory commission, and establish an independent market operator.

Honduras sold a 10-year sovereign bond for $815.67 million at a 6.4% interest rate, securing funds for debt management and the national budget while locking in interest rates more than 2 percentage points lower than a 2024 issuance.

Congress approved a motion demanding that the Interior Ministry resolve recognition of Anacafeh's board within 10 days, ending a three-year leadership dispute that has left the national coffee-growers' association paralyzed since rival factions emerged in 2023.

Congressman Godofredo Fajardo proposed legislation to allow Hondurans over 18 to travel to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua using only a national ID card rather than a passport, citing simplified border procedures and regional integration.

Civil-society group ASJ is pressing for a public report on Honduras's National Program for Reduction of Electrical Losses, questioning the transparency of purchases and inventory management during its operation through January 2026.

Former election officials have proposed roughly 70 amendments to Honduras's electoral law, including a presidential runoff requiring constitutional reform, a ban on leaves of absence for election council members, and measures to combat disinformation in campaigns.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $96.5 million in its daily currency sale on July 22, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.7722 per dollar for July 23.

UNAH Rector Odir Fernández said the university has not received official communication from the government about funds from the presidential aircraft sale that a law mandates be used for regional campus expansion, and the government owes the institution 1.44 billion lempiras in first-semester budget allocations.

A government lawyer filed a constitutional challenge to criminal-code reforms that stiffen penalties for femicide, arguing the changes create gender inequality and could lead to job losses and weapons-registry inclusion for the accused.

A congressman from the Libre party has proposed a law to establish workplace rights and safety protections for women engaged in paid sex work, addressing what he says is a regulatory gap that has left them vulnerable to discrimination and violence.

Honduras's education ministry has issued strict new regulations for 2026 patriotic parades—banning reggaeton, commercial branding, and immodest performances—and threatening teachers and principals with fines, suspensions, or dismissal for violations.

Coffee businessman Basilio Fuschich said a proposed additional 2.5% US tariff on products from countries with forced labor would, combined with existing tariffs, harm Honduras's exports and give competitors an unfair advantage unless applied uniformly across the region.

The CAF development bank approved $400 million in financing and technical support for Honduras's Integral Social Housing Program, which aims to expand affordable, accessible, and climate-resilient housing and strengthen the sector's financial institutions.

Vilma Palacios, a Honduran nurse trained in the United States, was arrested by ICE in June and deported after six months in detention; she has now secured a position in Canada's public health system.

Congress's Migration Commission established a technical working group with government agencies and civil-society organizations to strengthen legislation on human rights and migration issues.

Lawmakers are reviewing a sweeping reform of Honduras's securities law that would let Hondurans channel savings and remittances into investments rather than consumption, an approach already common in Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.

Honduras's government is lobbying to be excluded from new US tariffs threatening 12% duties on key exports, arguing the country meets US labor and human-rights standards and that about 600,000 jobs depend on market access.

Honduras's private-sector council president said a 10% U.S. tariff on Honduran goods raises export costs, undercuts competitiveness, and discourages foreign investment—including from European firms—and is pushing the government to negotiate tariff reduction or elimination.