Utila News

Edwin Cabrera, 45, a businessman from Utila, was killed by gunfire in his home on November 1; his son remains missing after being kidnapped seven months earlier, and police are investigating whether the two crimes are connected.

Decree 250-2026, published in the official gazette on October 16, entered into force authorizing the Finance Ministry to allocate up to 11 million lempiras (about $440,000) to subsidize electricity rates for residents of Utila, Bay Islands, through local utility UPCO.

The government will temporarily absorb a 33.5% increase in Utila's average electricity rate, which rose from L 11.20 to L 14.95 per kilowatt-hour, to prevent the hike from reaching residents and businesses.

Joselin Mejía, 18, from the island of Utila died at Regional Atlántida Hospital from severe dengue after arriving in shock with critically low blood pressure; another island resident remains hospitalized.

A private operator raised electricity tariffs on the island of Utila by as much as 35% unilaterally, prompting the national power workers' union to call for the energy regulator to intervene and review the company's operating costs.

The electricity rate in Utila, Bay Islands, will rise from L11.20 to L14.95 per kilowatt-hour on October 1, a 33.5% increase that residents say will strain household budgets; a public assembly is planned for Tuesday to address concerns.

The electricity regulator CREE will hold a public hearing on September 22 for Utila Power Company users to review and comment on a proposed new interim rate structure for the island's isolated power system.

Chepes Beach on Utila has been selected for Corona Beach 100 – World's Best Beaches 2026, an international ranking that positions Honduras's Bay Islands among the world's premier destinations and highlights its marine ecosystems and natural attractions.

Utila's municipality held talks with South Korean companies to explore cooperation on renewable energy, water, sanitation, and environmental protection, including a feasibility study for a solar power system on the island.

Olvin Javier Velásquez Maldonado, 40, was sentenced to more than four years in prison for conspiring to transport 24 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a boat traveling from Utila to Louisiana in 2022; his fingerprints on the drug packaging provided key evidence.

Utila Municipality has begun the second stage of repairs to the airport road, a L8.5 million (about $340,000) project funded by the Tourism Free Zone that includes resurfacing with concrete and is expected to improve mobility and safety on the island's main access route.

The first swamper iguanas (Ctenosaura bakeri) of the 2026 breeding season have hatched on Utila, advancing conservation efforts for the critically endangered species found only in the island's mangroves; hatchlings will be reared at a research station before reintroduction to the wild.

Health authorities confirmed a sixth measles case in Honduras in 2026—a 29-year-old Italian citizen who contracted the virus while traveling in Guatemala and later arrived on the island of Utila in the Bay Islands; officials are conducting epidemiological surveillance and urging vaccination.