National News

The head of Honduras's business association warns that the state power utility ENEE has 122 billion lempiras ($4.9 billion) in liabilities against 54 billion in assets, and risks having to return to costly diesel generation unless Congress approves new energy legislation and competitive bidding within months.

The Honduran national league will restart its 2026–27 opening tournament on July 31, just 12 days after the World Cup final on July 19, with traditional clubs Olimpia, Motagua, Real España, and Marathón competing alongside new team Estrella Roja de Danlí.

Economist Amparo Canales says Honduras must reassess its economic outlook due to unstable oil prices and rising international inflation, requiring a review of the monetary program in the third quarter as the economic environment shifts.

Dry conditions will prevail over most of Honduras, with weak isolated showers possible in the east, center, and west as easterly winds bring Caribbean moisture.

Honduras's municipal mayors' association issued a statement reminding elected officials to act with responsibility and preserve the dignity of public office after a video circulated showing a mayor allegedly drinking alcohol inside a municipal building.

Honduras reports that 6.1 million citizens now possess national identity documents (DNI), while annual death registrations have risen from 24,000 to 34,000.

COPECO warned that Honduras's prolonged dry season will continue despite recent rains, which authorities say offer only temporary relief.

Honduras has recorded 5,064 dengue cases in 2026, including three deaths and 89 severe cases, with the capital accounting for nearly a quarter of infections and health officials warning adolescents face elevated risk of complications.

The Energy Ministry announced fuel price reductions of 5 centavos to 2.25 lempiras (roughly 2 cents to 90 cents USD) starting Monday, citing a recent 5% surge in global oil prices from escalating US-Iran tensions that limited deeper cuts.

Honduras sold its presidential aircraft for just over $5 million — roughly $9 million less than a previous Nationalist administration paid for it — prompting Libre opposition lawmakers to question the process while the current government says the sale was conducted transparently and proceeds will fund social projects.

Honduras will see mostly dry conditions with weak scattered rains in the east, center, and west, high temperatures peaking at 39°C in Choluteca, and air-quality concerns from Saharan dust at 35 micrograms per cubic meter; authorities urge hydration and respiratory protection.

Honduras is planting 1,000 manzanas (about 700 hectares) with high-yield certified rice seed imported from the Dominican Republic in a pilot program costing roughly 5 million lempiras (about $187,000) to improve grain quality and reduce import dependence.

Lawyer Reyna Rivera warns that Honduras's special economic zones (ZEDEs) are expanding their territorial control despite a 2024 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional and Congressional repeal of their enabling law, with 4% of Roatán now under their jurisdiction.

Economist Ismael Zepeda questions the performance of Honduras's Superior Court of Accounts, which received a budget exceeding 1 billion lempiras (about $40 million) but referred only five cases of alleged illicit enrichment by officials to prosecutors in four years.

Honduras's banking and insurance regulator alerts the public to fraudulent messages falsely claiming to be from the CNBS and requesting identity verification, data updates, or biometric validation to unlock financial products.

Coffee producer Víctor Barahona projects Honduras's coffee exports will reach $2.5 billion this season.

The National Registry of Persons reports more than 14 million Hondurans are registered, with 51% male and 49% female.

A Libre congressman said the opposition party supports modernizing Honduras's state power company ENEE but rejects its division into separate corporations, signaling a key policy divide between parties over the utility's future structure.

The Finance Ministry has completed transfers to Honduras's 298 municipalities through June, allowing local governments to continue executing projects and delivering services.

Honduras's vehicle fleet grew to 3.6 million units in 2025, with motorcycles accounting for over half the increase and now representing 50.12% of all registered vehicles, driven by lower prices, easy financing, and fuel efficiency.

Lawyer Pavel Espinal argued that labeling the auctioned aircraft "unairworthy" likely deterred potential bidders and raised technical doubts, rejecting the claim that military aircraft are exempt from airworthiness certification requirements.

Jorge Lanza, a transport leader, says the sector pays over 18 billion lempiras (about $720 million) annually to extortionists and calls for stronger government strategies to combat the problem.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $80.1 million in its July 10 currency sale, setting the average exchange rate at L26.7635 per dollar for July 11–13.

The National Autonomous University reports the basic food basket rose 800 lempiras (about $32) over a year, but the government puts the increase at 244 lempiras, amid broader inflation running 5.83% annually against an official target of 4%.

The Honduran Football Federation announced its under-20 roster for the Concacaf Championship qualifier in Mexico (July 24–August 9), which will determine qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, though several promising players including Luis Suazo were unavailable due to club commitments.

A young person died and others were injured when lightning struck a group sheltering from rain, authorities said.

The Security Ministry signaled willingness to reimpose limited state-of-exception measures in specific zones during extraordinary violence such as massacres, reversing the nationwide emergency powers that lasted four years under the previous administration and drawing scrutiny from human-rights groups.

A tropical wave moving across Honduras on Saturday will bring scattered to moderate rainfall, with the heaviest accumulation of 50–60 mm expected in Lempira, Ocotepeque, and Intibucá, and authorities warning of flooding and landslide risks in vulnerable areas.

Honduras auctioned its Embraer Legacy 600 presidential aircraft to a Mexican engineering company, THEBE Ingeniería y Consultoría, for 137.8 million lempiras (about $5.1 million) on July 10, with the government pledging proceeds to health and education.

With 63 snake-bite cases reported so far in 2026, Honduras is struggling to stock antivenin serum in hospitals nationwide, a shortage that officials attribute to supplier problems and lack of government prioritization despite deaths from delayed treatment.