Honduras Politics News

Dozens of Hondurans carrying torches and signs marched peacefully to Casa Presidencial on Friday demanding government action on the country's water shortage and opposing recent energy reforms approved by Congress.

Honduras's courts ended 2025 with 43,006 unresolved cases out of 129,997 filed, a 33% backlog rate; Supreme Court magistrates say hiring more judges—paired with performance targets and better budgeting—is essential to reduce delays and improve case resolution.

A congressional decree expanding the temporary mandates of National Electoral Council (CNE) counselors expired today, but the officials will continue serving while lawmakers seek consensus on permanent replacements.

Honduras's Supreme Court declared Sept. 14 a judicial holiday for Independence Day festivities but ordered all scheduled hearings and essential court operations to proceed as normal.

Tegucigalpa's city government has declared a ban on the sale, distribution, and consumption of alcohol on September 15 along Boulevard Suyapa and at the National Stadium during Independence Day celebrations, with fines of 5,000–15,000 lempiras for violations.

A coalition of civil-society organizations is pressing Congress to urgently approve a comprehensive law protecting children from sexual abuse, citing alarming statistics: 57 girls suffer sexual violence daily in Honduras, yet authorities record only one report every 3.2 hours, with seven in ten cases occurring within families.

Cossette López presented her credentials to OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin in Washington, officially assuming her role as Honduras's permanent representative to the Organization of American States.

The Appeals Court in Francisco Morazán is reviewing a defense motion while the preliminary hearing against Roosevelt Hernández, the former head of Honduras's Joint Chiefs of Staff, remains suspended; Hernández faces charges for publicly attacking journalists in 2025.

Indigenous, Garífuna, and peasant leaders protested at the National Agrarian Institute in Tegucigalpa, demanding a halt to forced evictions under the 2026 Agro-Industrial Law and an end to criminalization of land-rights defenders, while calling for the removal of the INA director.

The Public Ministry's electoral crimes unit is gathering evidence at the headquarters of the Liberal Party and Libre regarding complaints of voting irregularities during the March 9, 2025 internal party elections, with no formal charges filed yet.

Five small political parties—Anticorrupción, ORDEN, Liberación Democrática de Honduras, Alianza Patriótica, and Vamos Honduras—petitioned Congress's Electoral Affairs Commission to restore their ability to compete in elections and gain representation on vote-counting boards.

Congress's administrative office archived a citizen petition seeking to impeach members of Congress, ruling it failed to gather the required minimum number of signatures.

A Tegucigalpa court admitted an appeal by the defense of retired General Roosevelt Hernández against a formal processing order from a September 1 hearing; his lawyers seek reversal and dismissal of charges alleging incitement to discrimination and infringement of fundamental rights related to press freedom.

Opposition leader Salvador Nasralla declared his candidacy for president of the Liberal Party's Central Executive Council, positioning the race as a stepping stone to challenge for the presidency in 2030.

A criminal court absolved former officials Mario Zelaya and Ramón Bertetty of violating their official duties in an IHSS procurement case, ruling the adjudication was approved by the board rather than a personal infraction, though both have faced multiple other convictions related to IHSS embezzlement.

Congresswoman Iroshka Elvir (Liberal Party) has requested the government reveal who hired and financed Argentine consultant Fernando Cerimedo during the 2025 election and his ties to then-candidate Nasry Asfura, citing Cerimedo's ongoing investigations in Bolivia for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering.

Congress is examining a proposal to strip political parties of the secretary and scrutineer positions at Honduras's roughly 18,000 polling stations, replacing partisan appointees with randomly selected citizens to reduce conflicts of interest during vote tallying.

An investigation found that former Libre congressman Andrés Castro directed L3.6 million (about $145,000) in Sedesol social aid to a ghost patronato and beneficiaries linked to an internal Libre faction and allied businesses, with at least L1.5 million (about $60,000) in food vouchers unaccounted for.

Congress will include a runoff in electoral reforms only if lawmakers secure a supermajority of 86 votes; the electoral commission chair said the proposal will be unified with other ballot measures for a vote expected in October.

Miskitu community members have occupied the Gracias a Dios regional education office for ten days demanding the reinstatement of director Robinson Álvarez Martínez, threatening to continue protests until authorities respond.

Honduras's Appellate Criminal Court declared inadmissible an amparo (constitutional protection) appeal by retired general Roosevelt Hernández, who faces charges of inciting discrimination and violating fundamental rights linked to military social-media posts targeting journalists; the case now moves to the Constitutional Court and a preliminary hearing is set for September 14.

Human-rights organizations asked the court to review judicial measures imposed on retired General Roosevelt Hernández, arguing he violated a ban on public statements about victims by discussing journalists in a recent television appearance.

Congress President Tomás Zambrano said lawmakers have shared an electoral-reform proposal with all legislative blocs and will now seek the National Electoral Council's opinion before proceeding, aiming to speed up vote tabulation and boost citizen confidence in elections.

Honduras's Attorney General's Office (PGR) has appealed a judge's decision to dismiss money-laundering and fraud charges against former president Juan Orlando Hernández, arguing the judge improperly excluded 58% of the prosecution's evidence and wrongly demanded direct rather than circumstantial proof in an organized-crime case.

Tegucigalpa's municipal police are conducting a major operation to remove abandoned and derelict vehicles from public spaces, giving owners 72 hours' notice before confiscation; recovery costs 3,800 lempiras (about $152) in fines and towing fees.

An investigation by El Heraldo found that Libre members of Congress directed nearly 224 million lempiras ($9 million) in social assistance—food vouchers, scholarships, and infrastructure aid—between 2023 and 2024 toward party members and their circles, while registered beneficiaries reported never receiving promised benefits.

UN human-rights experts have urged Honduras to immediately stop executing over 1,000 eviction orders against peasant, Indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities issued under a 2026 agroindustrial law that overrides land-reform claims and ancestral land rights.

Municipal workers reinstated by court order after layoffs in 2022–2023 remain relegated to a hallway in poor conditions at a San Pedro Sula city building, prompting human-rights groups to document the situation and urge the city to reassign them properly.

Leaders and supporters of the opposition Libre party marched through the capital calling for an end to President Nasry Asfura's administration, rallying under the slogan "Fuera la racha" (roughly, "Out with this government").

Garífuna organizations announced they will not attend a September 11 court hearing for five activists accused of land occupation, citing a corrupt, racially biased judicial system that favors powerful interests over Indigenous land rights.