Gang Violence

César Edgardo Ordóñez Aguilera, 18, an alleged 18th Street gang member, was arrested at a San Pedro Sula hospital — where he was being treated after a traffic accident — in connection with the May 2025 shooting death of Maycol Josué Osorto Reyes.

Jesús Humberto Mancía, accused of participating in armed attacks on public buses in San Pedro Sula on August 30, 2003 that killed 17 people in a single day, faces trial on charges of 17 counts of murder and other crimes; the prosecution presented a protected witness who identified him among the gunmen.

Police arrested three suspects allegedly linked to the 18th Street gang following an armed confrontation in the 15 de Septiembre neighborhood of Chamelecón, San Pedro Sula, where officers also seized high-caliber weapons.

A court found five members of Pandilla 18 guilty of murdering a girl in the Santa Teresita neighborhood, according to the Public Ministry.

Authorities are investigating whether the May 21 massacre of 20 people in Rigores, Trujillo, was retaliation for the February killing of Ruth Nohemy Monroy, 17, the wife of recently arrested gang leader Alexis Molina Mencía.

El Progreso, Yoro held a mass funeral on May 28 for Gerald (15), Jonathan (15), and Carlos (16), shot dead on May 26 by armed men who police believe killed the students by mistaken identity amid rival gang territorial disputes.

Authorities are investigating whether armed gunmen killed three young students riding a motorcycle in El Progreso after mistaking them for gang members.

Three of Honduras's five massacres so far this year have occurred in Yoro department, where rival criminal gangs, maras, drug-trafficking networks, and land-invasion groups are competing for territory across municipalities including Olanchito, El Progreso, and Sulaco.