National News

The government announced 64.3 million lempiras (about $2.6 million) in financing for salt producers through the ComRural program, aiming to strengthen the sector and create jobs in salt-producing communities across Honduras.

Former president Juan Orlando Hernández announced he will return to Honduras on July 26 at 9 a.m., saying

Critics report that Honduras has spent 3 billion lempiras (roughly $120 million) on reforestation projects without measurable evidence of impact, raising questions about how public funds are being managed and overseen.

A think tank says Honduras's state power utility loses about 15 billion lempiras (roughly $600 million) a year, blamed on political interference rather than operational needs, as Congress debates an overhaul bill opposed by some lawmakers who fear weakening the company's market role.

The president of the IHSS doctors' association says the social-security institute faces a severe crisis driven by government debt exceeding 30 billion lempiras (about $1.2 billion) and another 6 billion lempiras from other sectors, compounded by overcrowding, physician shortages, and no new buildings in over 30 years.

Economist Amparo Canales warns that rising electricity rates risk setting off cascading inflation and further increasing the cost of living for Hondurans.

The Asfura administration has sent a letter of intent to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva as the current three-year, $822 million program nears completion, though officials say no decision has been made yet on whether to pursue a new agreement.

Honduras's audit court referred only four illicit-enrichment cases to prosecutors between 2019 and 2025, involving former officials from the social security institute, social investment fund, and two municipalities, with alleged unjustified wealth gains totaling L92.4 million (about $3.7 million).

A labor confederation representative estimates that about 40% of Honduras's maquiladoras (assembly factories) have shut down, severely impacting employment and family incomes in the northern industrial zone.

Four Honduran high school students—Sebastián Talabera, Sebastián Pérez, Rodrigo Díaz, and David Alvarado—are competing in the 56th International Physics Olympiad in Bucaramanga, Colombia (July 4–12), Honduras's inaugural participation in the world's premier physics competition for secondary students.

Garbage collection in Honduras has risen 27.8% between January 26 and July 12, reflecting increased demand for the service.

Former BCIE president Dante Mossi said Honduras's first-quarter GDP growth of 3.6% was the slowest in Central America, warning that only countries growing above 6% can effectively reduce poverty, and urging the government to support small business, construction, and agriculture.

Economists warn that 60% of Hondurans lack sufficient income to purchase the basic food basket.

Honduras has enacted criminal-code reforms raising femicide sentences from 25–30 years to up to 60 years for aggravated cases and establishing specialized courts staffed exclusively by women judges to handle femicide and violence-against-women cases.

Honduran scientist Mary Lorena Vallecillo said the government has rejected a proposed national center for medicine production, medical-device manufacturing, and genetic research after six months of outreach, leaving about 1 billion lempiras (roughly $40 million) in invested and committed funds at risk; El Salvador has expressed interest in hosting the project instead.

Juan Orlando Hernández announced he will return to Honduras on July 26 to face trial on August 3 for alleged fraud and money laundering tied to his 2013 campaign financing, after a judge suspended his arrest warrant.

Lawmakers from the opposition Liberty and Refoundation party criticized the government's cancellation of a planned molecular laboratory, calling it a major mistake and saying officials have not publicly explained the decision or its reasons.

Honduras's agriculture ministry held an international workshop on bean breeding with scientists from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to develop improved varieties that resist disease, tolerate climate stress, and boost yields, addressing the country's annual demand of about 3 million quintals (roughly 135,000 metric tons).

Honduras's National Police clarified that security cameras are not prohibited in homes and businesses, dispelling social-media rumors that arose after police dismantled cameras allegedly installed by criminal gangs in San Pedro Sula.

Lawyer Aixa Gabriela Zelaya Gómez has assumed the presidency of Honduras's National Electoral Council (CNE) following her appointment as interim council member by Congress under Decree 135-2026.

Free-zones adviser Santos Roberto Peña reported that three new companies incorporated in Honduras during the first half of 2026 are expected to generate around 500 jobs.

More than 129,000 Honduran children and adolescents have been deported to Honduras since 2014, according to COIPRODEN, a child welfare organization.

Physicians in Honduras report a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and are urging the public to resume biosecurity measures, particularly mask-wearing, especially in healthcare and public settings where transmission risk is highest.

The Scientific Industrial Complex of Honduras has closed permanently due to budget constraints, ending a project that aimed to manufacture medicines, medical devices, and conduct advanced biotech research to reduce the country's dependence on imported health products.

Amparo Canales, former president of Honduras's College of Economists, says energy reforms will require foreign investment and must avoid politicization, while improving the state power company ENEE's efficiency and protecting its assets from privatization.

Luis Suazo, son of former Honduras star David Suazo, will miss the Concacaf U-20 Championship in Mexico after his Portuguese club Braga refused to release him, depriving coach Orlando López of a key attacking option.

Honduras's one-year firearms amnesty, enacted July 2 under congressional decree, allows owners of undocumented legal weapons to register them without penalty starting July 6 at the National Police's Firearms Unit in Tegucigalpa.

Child welfare organizations reported that 197 minors died in Honduras during the first six months of 2026, with 47% from traffic accidents and 37% from homicides, and warned that violence is now spreading beyond the three historically hardest-hit departments.

A tropical wave interacting with a surface trough will bring scattered to moderate rainfall and isolated thunderstorms across Honduras on Sunday, with the heaviest accumulations expected in the western region, while Sahara dust concentrations will create a light haze in the sky.

Honduras will see Saharan dust and scattered weak rainfall on Saturday, according to the national weather forecast.