National News

President Nasry Asfura highlighted the state electricity utility's financial crisis, citing cumulative losses of 118 billion lempiras (about $4.7 billion) as a central challenge facing the administration.

Honduras has again been listed as a candidate country for Millennium Challenge Corporation funding in 2027, a US-backed program supporting governance and economic development, according to CCIT vice president Enrique Jaar.

Honduras's government and poultry producers, representing 80% of national output, agreed to cut the price of a carton of eggs to 95 lempiras (about $3.80) at Banasupro stores nationwide and 104 lempiras (about $4.15) at Mercado Zonal Belén, with monthly cost reviews to follow.

Honduras's 589-athlete delegation will compete across 20 sports at the 2026 CODICADER Central American youth games, hosted in Honduras from September 5–13.

Honduras's National Toxicology Center has warned of dangerous levels of benzene in soft stress-relief toys called 'squishies' sold widely in the country, citing a UK alert about one brand that exceeded safe limits and noting children's heightened vulnerability to the carcinogenic chemical.

Mayors from Lempira municipalities reported 100% crop losses from ongoing drought and traveled to Tegucigalpa seeking government relief, while the national farm federation warned Honduras should be declared in emergency.

Honduras's consumer protection director clarified that providers are legally required to give consumers clear, accurate, and complete information about products and services, and that false or misleading claims — including unsubstantiated health benefits or hidden charges — violate the consumer protection law.

ENEE has announced scheduled power cuts on September 3 in Santa Bárbara, Cortés, and Ocotepeque departments from early morning through mid-afternoon for maintenance work, equipment removal, and contractor projects.

The electrical regulator (CREE) is expected to approve a 17% rate increase on September 30, but a six-month rate freeze and state subsidies enacted by Congress will prevent the increase from reaching residential and vulnerable consumers.

The Labor Committee began hearings on a proposal to extend the workplace lactation benefit from six months by 42 additional days and to start counting the period after postnatal rest ends, with labor union input gathered and private-sector feedback still pending.

Honduras's Public Ministry has opened investigations into Medisan in San Pedro Sula and Nueva Med in Tegucigalpa, both accused of issuing false diagnoses to persuade patients to purchase expensive treatments, following a La Prensa inquiry that documented the clinics' practices.

Honduras's Medical College (CMH) gave the government three days to pay over two months of back wages to public-sector doctors and reinstate physicians who were dismissed, threatening escalated labor action if demands are not met.

Honduras's agricultural sector is reporting significant losses from adverse weather, with corn production down roughly 30% across evaluated plots and livestock output declining 10–40%; the Agriculture Ministry is distributing 20 million lempiras (about $800,000) in feed aid and crop incentives to affected farmers and ranchers.

The head of Honduras's small-business chamber, Victorino Carranza, called on Congress's recent electricity system reforms to cut operating costs for micro and small enterprises, saying companies should pay only for energy consumed and that unpredictable rates now hamper financial planning.

The anti-corruption legal group ASJ filed a complaint asking prosecutors to investigate L1.8 billion (about $72 million) in discretionary social funds managed by lawmakers between 2023 and 2025, alleging only 37% has been accounted for and flagging potential political misuse.

A judge formally charged former military chief Roosevelt Hernández after the Journalists' Association filed a complaint over a social-media post in which he called several reporters "hired killers" (sicarios), an allegation Hernández says amounts to censorship.

Honduras suffers over 165 hours of blackouts yearly—versus fewer than 9 in El Salvador—costing businesses more than $100 million annually, and analysts warn the new Energy Justice Law's impact depends on institutional capacity to implement it.

Former president Manuel Zelaya criticized Congress's approval of an energy-reform law as a surrender of state control to private corporations, arguing it exemplifies how élites and external political pressure undermine Honduran democracy.

Honduras has enacted a four-month amnesty (through December 14) allowing individuals, businesses, and public agencies to settle civil-liability debts owed to the Superior Court of Audits by paying only the principal, with all interest, fines, and surcharges waived.

The El Niño phenomenon is intensifying and could raise Pacific temperatures 3–4 °C above normal from October through December, with Cenaos director Francisco Argeñal warning of potentially record-breaking warming that could exceed the historical maximum of 2.7 °C.

The National Autonomous University of Honduras reversed its March decision to adopt the royal blue used by the ruling National Party, returning to the official turquoise-sky blue specified in the 1866 flag decree and a 2021 university study.

Isaac Sandoval, a TikTok personality, was arrested to serve an 18-month prison sentence on a domestic-violence charge related to his ex-partner Daniela Aldana, after being acquitted in a separate case.

A Honduran court on September 1 dismissed charges against former president Juan Orlando Hernández in the Pandora II case, ruling prosecutors failed to prove he diverted $10.8 million to his 2013 campaign when he led Congress, and ordering his release.

Economic Development Minister Eddy Ordóñez warned merchants and producers that those unable to justify recent egg-carton price increases above 14 lempiras face fines of 1,000 to 10,000 minimum wages and possible month-long business closures.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina says Honduras faces no food shortage and markets are adequately stocked despite recent weather damage, with new harvests expected from mid-September onward.

Cohep president Anabel Gallardo said legal and economic uncertainty is a major barrier to attracting investment and formal employment, citing losses in the power sector, flaws in part-time labor law, and the need for job creation to retain Hondurans rather than rely on migration and remittances.

Honduras's new Energy Justice Law temporarily freezes ENEE electricity rates for six months, allows eligible low-income households to seek forgiveness of accumulated debts up to 250 kWh monthly consumption, and creates tax breaks for residential solar-panel systems.

Honduras national team coach José Francisco Molina says midfielder Kervin Arriaga's transfer to AEK Athens is a competitive advance because the Greek club will compete in the Champions League.

A law exempting returned Honduran migrants from import duties on household goods, tools, and vehicles remains unapplied because Customs has not issued the required implementing regulations.

A tropical wave will break dry conditions across Honduras on Wednesday with scattered to moderate showers, heavier rainfall expected in the south, southwest, center, and east, while capital-area reservoirs continue declining despite the incoming moisture.