Honduras Politics News

Congress passed legislation declaring legally registered agricultural properties exempt from seizure and ordering police and judicial authorities to respond immediately to illegal occupations affecting sectors such as palm oil, coffee, sugar cane, and citrus.

The CAMP, the governing body for Honduras's special economic zones, reactivated in May under Francisco René Flores Bonilla, a former JOH-era official charged by prosecutors in a corruption investigation over his management of seized-asset funds.

A government commission liquidating ministries from the former Castro administration found contracts charging up to L70,000 (about $2,800) per broadcast minute, along with evidence of political spending and missing computer hard drives, sending its findings to the audit court and prosecutor.

A proposal by Liberal congressman Yury Sabas would lower the minimum driving age to 16, permitting teenagers to operate light vehicles between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. under a reformed Traffic Law.

Congress approved a temporary waiver of fines and sanctions for 2025 election candidates who failed to file required campaign finance reports or establish separate campaign bank accounts, giving them two months to comply before penalties take effect.

Jorge Alberto Cálix Orellana, whose brother Mario José "Cubeta" Cálix was extradited to the US on drug charges, has been appointed director of the OABI, the state agency that administers assets seized from traffickers—a move that prompted a rights lawyer to warn of potential conflicts of interest.

Environmental and human-rights organizations are calling on President Asfura to veto a newly approved law strengthening agroindustry protections, arguing it weakens environmental controls, blocks land reform, and criminalizes peasant land claims under the guise of fighting land invasions.

Reina Margarita Carrasco, a 46-year-old founder of the Bastión del Sur citizen watchdog group and Libre party activist, was killed on January 22, 2026, two days after protesting at Congress over the disputed 2025 election; her murder remains unsolved.

A bill before Congress would raise femicide sentences to 25–30 years (or 30–40 for aggravated cases), create specialized courts nationwide to handle gender-violence crimes, and broaden the legal definition of power imbalance between men and women.

A proposal by the current director of Honduras's state electricity utility to reorganize its structure into three separate companies and create an independent grid operator would undermine state control and pave the way for privatization, according to former ENEE manager Erick Tejada.

The National Congress reversed its previous day's approval of a two-month extension for candidates who failed to file required campaign-finance reports, leaving them exposed to fines up to 90,000 lempiras and prosecution by the attorney general's office.

President Nasry Asfura said his administration will not privatize the state power utility ENEE but will pursue efficiency reforms and modernization to address the company's mounting losses, which he called Honduras's main economic problem.

Congress's Family and Children Commission is leading technical talks to revise the law on sexual abuse prevention and protection for children and adolescents, citing persistent legal gaps that hinder swift justice for victims.

The municipality of Guanaja has prohibited dogs from roaming the streets, citing damage to garbage bags and sanitation problems, and will fine owners who allow pets to wander unsupervised.

Congresswoman Yasmy Arita introduced legislation in Congress to establish a special youth motorcycle license requiring mandatory training and exams before issuance, aiming to reduce traffic accidents and improve road safety among young riders.

Honduras's Supreme Court approved proposed reforms to femicide statutes and a law allowing release of terminally ill prisoners, offering technical observations for Congress to consider during legislative debate.

Congress is prepared to review the executive's proposal to restructure the state electricity utility ENEE to reduce its 38% loss rate—which costs the state approximately L1.3 billion monthly—and lower electricity costs for consumers.

Congressman Yury Sabas of the Liberal Party announced a bill to allow supervised driving licenses for Hondurans aged 16 to 18 with parental consent, mandatory insurance, and certified driver training, citing informal teenage driving already occurring on roads.

Jorge Alberto Cálix Orellana has been appointed director of Honduras's agency that administers assets seized from drug traffickers, sparking concerns over conflict of interest because his brother Mario José Cálix—a major trafficker extradited to the US in 2024—had substantial property and accounts seized by the same institution.

Lawyers from Colombian President Gustavo Petro's party filed a complaint with Honduras's Public Ministry against former President Juan Orlando Hernández, alleging terrorist association and crimes against humanity based on disputed audio recordings, as forensic analysis of the recordings remains inconclusive.

The Public Ministry says no investigation has been opened into Rony Pacheco, director of the National Statistics Institute (INE), who is also listed as an employee of the National Electoral Council (CNE), pending a report from the Court of Accounts to determine whether his dual roles violate civil-service law.

The Public Transparency and Anti-Corruption Office and its Comayagua regional division are seeking information from Humuya municipality regarding its appointment processes as part of a corruption investigation.

Five years after nursing student Keyla Martínez was killed in police custody, a retrial begins in August after the original conviction for involuntary homicide was overturned due to procedural irregularities; her mother and women's rights groups demand the case be reclassified as aggravated femicide and that the accused police officer face pretrial detention.

Honduras's National Congress is drafting reforms to strengthen legal protections and institutional coordination for the prevention, detection, and prosecution of sexual abuse against children and adolescents, following violence that kills dozens of minors yearly.

Israel will send medical brigades to Honduras in July and October, and both nations agreed to expand cooperation in agriculture, innovation, and technology, the governments announced following talks at the presidential palace.

Honduras's Central Bank said it respects ongoing investigations after prosecutors charged current and former employees with 100 counts of negligent embezzlement tied to a multimillion-lempira theft, with arrests made in Choluteca, Francisco Morazán, and Cortés.

Congress approved a two-month amnesty allowing vehicle and motorcycle owners to settle outstanding tax debts without paying accumulated penalties, fines, or interest, covering obligations from 2025 and earlier years.

The Tegucigalpa municipal government and the Agriculture Ministry signed a cooperation agreement to provide technical assistance and climate resilience support to 2,500–4,000 small and mid-size farmers in the capital's rural areas.

Congress approved legislation declaring agricultural and agro-industrial lands exempt from land reform and other seizure, mandating immediate police action against invasions and road blockades, and requiring streamlined permitting for the sector, which contributes roughly 6.5 billion lempiras to GDP.

The government will submit a comprehensive electricity-sector reform bill to Congress this week that would split ENEE into three functional divisions—generation, transmission, and distribution—aiming to cut system losses of nearly 38% and stabilize tariffs, officials say.