Prospera

Patri Friedman, a charter-city investor, attended a conference in Roatán's Próspera ZEDE in early September to press the Honduran government on the legal status of the special economic zones, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in origin but remain active.

A US House Democrats report suggests that efforts to secure Donald Trump's pardon for former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández were tied to business interests in Próspera, the economic zone that Hernández enabled during his presidency.

Honduras's health regulator (ARSA) claims it has no authority to license or supervise genetics laboratories operating within the Próspera special economic zone, contradicting officials' prior statements that the labs would coordinate with the agency.

Attorney Ramón Barrios says Próspera's appointment of a civil prosecutor violates Honduras's Constitution by creating an exceptional jurisdiction the Supreme Court already ruled illegal, and called on the Public Ministry to investigate potential criminal liability.

Two educated Hondurans—a lawyer who returned after studying abroad and an architect who stayed—demonstrate that retaining skilled workers requires domestic opportunities in sectors like special economic zones and international projects.

A TuNota analysis finds that Próspera's earlier employment figure of 3,480 jobs mixed direct and indirect positions, with a later revision to 974 jobs—a 72.8% drop the developer attributes to legal uncertainty, though public data do not isolate the causes or allow independent verification.

Lawyer Reyna Rivera warns that Honduras's special economic zones (ZEDEs) are expanding their territorial control despite a 2024 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional and Congressional repeal of their enabling law, with 4% of Roatán now under their jurisdiction.