National News

ENEE manager Guillermo Peña Panting said a bill to reform Honduras's electricity system is in advanced legislative stages and aims to attract private investment in generation, transmission, and distribution to address chronic blackouts and improve service reliability.

Congress approved a temporary two-month deadline extension and suspended collection efforts against 2025 election candidates who failed to file required financial reports, with penalties waived if they comply by the new deadline.

A congressman has proposed replacing unanimity with simple majority voting and reducing quorum requirements at Honduras's National Electoral Council and Electoral Court to break deadlocks, amid current staffing vacancies and absences that have raised concerns about institutional stability.

President Nasry Asfura declared the state power company's financial losses and accumulated debt the country's chief economic concern, pledging to stabilize operations while keeping it publicly owned and freeing resources for health, education, and infrastructure.

A consumer-advocacy group reported that at least 16 staple foods rose in price over the weekend, with beans reaching 120 lempiras (about $4.80) per measure and eggs up to 110 lempiras (about $4.40) per carton, alongside price increases in chayote, potatoes, peppers, and broccoli, blamed on weather, inflation, and Middle East conflicts.

Honduras's Health Ministry extended its vaccination and deworming campaign through June to boost immunization coverage nationwide, as the country reports five confirmed measles cases.

Honduras's state power utility is issuing bonds in the national financial system to raise liquidity and settle accumulated debts to electricity generators, officials say, aiming to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

The Ciudad Mujer educational center graduated 91 women—including single mothers, homemakers, and working women from across Honduras—who completed secondary studies through a program designed to serve women unable to pursue education through conventional channels.

The Inter-American Development Bank said it supports Honduras's energy reforms, which aim to fix structural problems in the electrical system and ensure long-term sustainability, and pledged to help with implementation.

Former energy official Guillermo Peña Panting warns that Honduras faces potential loss in international arbitrations filed by electricity-sector investors at the ICSID, citing the current administration's reforms to contracts signed under prior legal frameworks.

Honduras's monthly economic activity index rose 3.5% in the first four months of 2026, driven by stronger agricultural-export sales and increased domestic consumption, the central bank reported.

A deported man was arrested after his wife was killed at a motel in an incident involving accusations of infidelity and a financial dispute over approximately 260,000 lempiras (about $10,400).

A former head of Honduras's banking commission warned that new US requirements for remittance senders to prove legal status could cut the flow of family money—which topped $12 billion in 2025 and already exceeds $4.5 billion in 2026—potentially harming multiple sectors of the Honduran economy.

Honduras's human-rights ombudsman reports that at least 23,000 people have been forcibly displaced from the country between 2010 and 2025, placing it sixth among 162 nations most affected by forced displacement.

About 300 employees of Honduras's National Emergency System 911—ambulance staff, paramedics, and dispatchers—say they have not been paid for several months, with Human Resources offering no explanation for the delays that began when the current government took office.

Only about 3,000 social homes may be built this year because the state housing bank BANHPROVI has not yet received promised funds, though officials say $500 million annually could flow by late August if IMF talks proceed.

Honduras's national vocational institute is adding artificial intelligence and photovoltaic technician courses to its curriculum to align with labor-market demand, says director Edgardo Loucel.

National Police arrested a man known as "El Fierro," alleged to be an MS-13 member, in the central region on charges of drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm.

The director of the UNAH's Violence Observatory reported to Radio HRN that Honduras averages six homicides per day, with Francisco Morazán, Cortés, Olancho, Yoro, Atlántida, and Copán departments recording the highest rates.

Central Bank President Roberto Lagos said the IMF agreement does not condition approval of Honduras's electricity-sector reforms, characterizing the Fund as providing accompaniment to the government's own policy vision.

Congressman Marco Midence, a former finance minister, warned that climbing oil prices driven by Middle East conflict will push inflation higher in Honduras, urging the government to adopt energy efficiency measures and stabilize food prices through state programs.

Honduras has recorded 3,800 suspected dengue cases nationwide to date, marking a 49% decline from the same period last year, according to the Health Ministry's surveillance chief.

Egg prices in Honduras have climbed this weekend to 95 lempiras for large cartons, 90 for medium, and 80 for small, driven by increases in feed and labor expenses.

A tropical wave will bring rain to most of Honduras on Monday, according to the risk-management secretariat.

The opposition LIBRE party faction says the government's draft energy reform is privatization disguised as modernization and is calling for a popular referendum, arguing that Hondurans—not lawmakers or private interests—should decide the future of the state-owned utility ENEE.

The Latin American Development Bank (CAF) endorsed Honduras's proposed electricity-sector reform, saying it would modernize the energy system, attract foreign investment, and improve service quality while offering support for implementation.

Honduras's National Risk and Contingency Secretariat will analyze 75 municipalities in the Dry Corridor already under alert due to El Niño-linked low rainfall, evaluating whether to adjust or expand warnings as the critical rainy months approach.

The Health Ministry has extended its national vaccination and deworming campaign because coverage remains below the 95% target, with free vaccines available at over 1,800 health facilities, mobile clinics, and door-to-door teams, with particular emphasis on children under five.

Milton Puerto, president of Congress's Energy Commission, says private companies will be barred from using assets of the state electricity utility ENEE as collateral when seeking investment loans.

Honduras will see another round of cuts to gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices starting Monday, marking three straight weeks of fuel-cost declines, with officials suggesting further drops may follow if international market trends persist.