National News

The head of Honduras's footwear industry association warns that cheap Chinese shoe imports are pushing most local workshops toward crisis, cutting production sharply.

Televicentro and Emisoras Unidas held their annual tree-giveaway event on July 4–5, distributing 4,000 ornamental and timber saplings in Tegucigalpa and an unspecified number in San Pedro Sula, with support from both municipalities and volunteer groups.

The government announced L64.3 million (about $2.6 million) in financing through the Comrural rural competitiveness program to support salt producers' development and working capital needs.

A former member of Honduras's National Electoral Council expressed concern that interim leadership lacks clear authority to make key decisions needed for the 2029 general elections and future electoral reforms.

Infrastructure Minister Aníbal Ehrler said the 28-year Palmerola International Airport concession includes a clause prohibiting another international airport within 100 kilometers (affecting Tegucigalpa's airport), but officials may negotiate exemptions for regional flights and domestic operations.

Rev. Mario Orlando Ordóñez Pavón, a prominent evangelical pastor who led Ministerio Vida Hoy for 25 years and worked with Christian media outlets HRVC and Stereo Luz, died on July 5 at age 58 from natural causes.

The government approved imports of corn, beans, and rice to manage domestic supply and control prices amid drought, while the agriculture ministry pursues higher-yield rice seeds to boost national production.

Honduras's National Migration Institute said its emergency passport centers have issued more than 950 urgent travel documents in their first 90 days of continuous operation.

The Central Bank president says Honduras's electricity crisis is the main brake on economic growth, limiting expansion to roughly 3.5% annually without reform, and that fixing the power sector would free public funds for health and education while attracting investment.

The former director of Honduras's main penitentiary, Colonel Juan Carlos Osorto Castillo, is requesting a full audit of the Támara prison commissary system from its inception, citing unclear profit accounting and lack of inventory records as prior administrations changed, after an alleged eight-million-lempira shortfall was detected.

Police in northern Honduras are invoking recently passed legislation—including an expanded terrorism statute and an agro-industrial protection decree—to suppress civic protests and conduct evictions, drawing accusations of excessive force and rights violations from human-rights groups and community leaders.

Sergio Zepeda, an economist at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, says roughly 90% of remittances entering Honduras are spent on consumption while only 10% goes to savings or investment, with most spending concentrated in major cities.

A Health Ministry mobile program called "Healthcare Closer to You" has provided free consultations, lab work, and medications to over 6,000 people in rural areas, with Vice Minister José Miguel Castillo saying it will expand nationwide and prioritize cancer screening for women.

A video has emerged of the abduction of journalist Roxana Guzmán, with her mother reacting to the footage.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $83.6 million in its July 6 currency sale, setting the weighted-average exchange rate at L 26.7383 per dollar for July 7.

Olimpia will face Génesis Policía Nacional on July 7 at the National High Performance Center as part of preseason preparation ahead of the Supercopa matchup against Motagua and a July 11 friendly in Houston.

The national traffic authority confirms it still lacks sufficient materials to print physical driver licenses, keeping the service operating at reduced capacity until new supplies arrive in August.

Honduras's state power utility ENEE has announced widespread outages on July 7 affecting Colón, Santa Bárbara, Cortés, Copán, Francisco Morazán, and Olancho departments between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for scheduled maintenance work.

The World Meteorological Organization projects a rapid shift to strong El Niño conditions from July through September 2026, bringing above-normal temperatures and irregular rainfall that officials warn could trigger drought stress on crops, water supplies, and energy demand in vulnerable southern and western departments.

Defensores de Honduras called on the government and Congress to treat the end of TPS for Honduran migrants and a nearly 12% electricity rate hike as national emergencies requiring urgent policy responses.

Deputy Carlos Umaña warned that the government has failed to honor agreements made with the Medical College of Honduras, risking a new labor dispute as hospitals continue facing shortages, infrastructure gaps, and staffing problems.

The Honduran central bank will overhaul its monetary program following the IMF's successful review of Honduras's economic plan, which unlocks a disbursement of roughly $240 million and aims to move toward a more flexible exchange market while maintaining inflation control.

Students at Instituto Jesús Aguilar Paz have occupied the school indefinitely in protest of staff layoffs at the educational center.

Honduras granted 108 residencies to foreign nationals from January through July 2026, even as asylum requests by foreigners in the country quadrupled over the past year, according to a UNHCR report.

Honduras's National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Center forecast two tropical waves entering the country this week—the first on Wednesday affecting the north and west, and the second on Saturday bringing rainfall nationwide with heaviest accumulation in the west, center, and east.

Honduras recorded 716 asylum requests from foreign nationals in 2025, quadruple the previous level, while 262,913 Hondurans abroad remain in need of international protection, according to UNHCR data.

Arca de Esperanzas, which provides rehabilitation and therapy to people with neurological disabilities, says the Health Ministry has not signed the agreement to release L3.49 million (about $140,000) approved in the 2026 budget, threatening to suspend services for hundreds of families.

More than 8,000 Honduran women have been murdered since 2005, with 139 cases recorded through June 2026, and the OV-UNAH warns crimes are growing more brutal, with patterns linked to organized crime.

The government said strategic bean reserves held by the agricultural marketing institute exceed storage targets by 10–15%, ensuring adequate supply despite drought, and has identified potential import suppliers as a backup plan.

Honduras will see mostly dry weather on Tuesday, July 7, with rain expected in the east, north, and northwest, temperatures reaching up to 39°C (102°F) in the south, and continued Saharan dust at moderate levels.