Honduras Politics News

The Public Ministry rejected former Congress president Luis Rolando Redondo's appeal of a June 2 decision to maintain secrecy around his investigation into his role at the now-defunct Permanent Commission, finding the prosecutor properly withheld details to protect the inquiry.

A congressman has introduced a bill to convert properties managed by Honduras's seized-asset office into a nationwide network of emergency shelters for people displaced by disasters, violence, or other crises.

Congress suspended debate on a proposed energy modernization law after the Liberal Party and social sectors demanded more time and transparency, citing concerns over potential rate increases and the future of the state electricity company ENEE.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras called for broader, technically-grounded public debate on proposed electrical-sector reforms, emphasizing that any modernization must preserve ENEE's state ownership and protect Honduran households and businesses from service disruptions and high costs.

Vice President of Congress Godofredo Fajardo introduced a bill to block a 12.82% electricity rate increase announced by the energy regulator, keeping the price at 5.32 lempiras per kilowatt-hour instead of allowing it to rise to 5.98 lempiras, citing the burden on household budgets and business costs.

Lawmakers approved 26 million lempiras (about $1 million) from the 2026 budget to build a shelter for women who have experienced violence in Santa Bárbara, with construction to begin this year.

The government named former National Electoral Council president Ana Paola Hall as ambassador to Spain, tasking her with strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights says Honduras needs an electoral council independent of political parties and opposes the return of two current counselors to their posts to ensure transparent 2029 elections.

Electoral council members Ana Paola Hall and Cossette López presented a 2,000-page report alleging that the 2025 election faced institutional pressure from the military and prosecutors, counting obstruction, and threats including arrest warrants against them, while asserting no fraud occurred.

The National Congress is refusing to unseal physical boxes that may contain financial documents from former Congress president Luis Redondo's 2022–2026 tenure, citing a need for oversight by the Court of Accounts, while claiming digital records of the spending have been deleted.

Rural, indigenous, and human-rights organizations filed a constitutional challenge seeking to suspend Decree 107-2026, which they say enables land seizures and strips protections from campesino and indigenous communities to shield agribusiness, energy, tourism, and ranching projects.

The National Congress unanimously approved 10 contracts funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and Central American Bank for Economic Integration to carry out social projects and consulting work across multiple departments, though lawmakers noted the absence of contract values in the vote.

Honduras's accounting tribunal will investigate L15.9 million (about $636,000) paid for two presidential meeting rooms at the Supreme Court during Rebeca Raquel Obando's tenure, after a failed public bid, a closed private bidding, and cost overruns of nearly L3 million above the original contract.

A court replaced pretrial detention with less restrictive measures for former judge Marco Antonio Vallecillo, accused of extortion, after the Constitutional Court found due-process violations; he must remain in Honduras, report regularly to court, and avoid contact with co-defendants.

José Azcona, a Liberal Party engineer and former congressman, argues that the government's proposed restructuring of the state power utility into three private-market companies would effectively privatize the electricity market and raise costs for poor consumers, though he says ENEE can be rescued without direct privatization.

Marvin Ponce alleged Wednesday that five Liberal Party members of Congress are demanding bribes in exchange for votes on energy reforms aimed at reducing electricity theft and restructuring the state utility into three separate entities.

Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, pardoned by Trump in December 2025, may face a new US investigation into the 2022 murder of Said Lobo, son of ex-president Porfirio Lobo, with potential charges of conspiracy and murder of a US citizen carrying life imprisonment or death penalty.

Congress appointed Eduardo Fuentes and Aixa Zelaya as interim members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to replace Cossette López and Ana Paola Hall, who took diplomatic posts abroad, amid opposition lawmakers' protests that the substitutions lack legal standing.

A National Congress member proposed reopening the enrollment period for a microbusiness tax-incentive program that expired, conditioning new benefits on companies creating at least 20% more jobs and adding safeguards against fraud and duplicate claims.

Honduras's Supreme Court assigned Walter Miranda Sabio as the judge to handle cases involving former officials and ex-presidents under investigation in the so-called Pandora II corruption probe, following standard procedures for cases involving people with special legal status.

Honduras's new agroindustrial protection law has entered force, triggering initial evictions in Choluteca as authorities enforce rules meant to shield farm production and infrastructure, though human-rights groups warn it could deepen rural land conflicts.

Former president Juan Orlando Hernández's attorney said he will use technical consultants to refute money-laundering accusations at a hearing scheduled for August 3, when Hernández is set to appear before a judge.

Former President Juan Orlando Hernández, pardoned after a US conviction, will return to Honduras on July 31, but the Prosecutor's Office — which in 2022 cited alleged financial and corporate ties to drug traffickers when seizing his assets — never converted that allegation into criminal charges.

The Asfura administration briefed leaders of the Evangelical Confraternity of Honduras on its proposed energy-sector restructuring bill; Criterio.hn, a critical outlet, reports that opponents argue the measure amounts to privatization of ENEE and would ultimately drive up electricity prices for consumers.

Former president Juan Orlando Hernández will return to Honduras in August 2026 to appear before the Supreme Court of Justice as part of ongoing judicial proceedings against him.

Honduras's Supreme Court approved a procedural protocol to speed up the return of children illegally taken out of or brought into the country, implementing the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction that Honduras ratified in 1993.

Honduras's human-rights committee supports the government's electricity reforms but is pressing for legal guarantees that the state-owned national power utility will not be privatized and that benefits reach all sectors, as Congress prepares to vote on the overhaul this week.

Security Minister Gerson Velásquez confirmed that former president Juan Orlando Hernández will receive state protection as an ex-chief executive after the Supreme Court suspended his arrest warrant, allowing him to voluntarily appear before a judge to face pending criminal charges.

Juan Orlando Hernández's lawyer announced the former president will return to Honduras on July 1 after years of extradition and imprisonment in the United States on drug-trafficking charges.

The Supreme Court of Justice suspended the arrest warrant against former president Juan Orlando Hernández, clearing his return to Honduras on July 31 to face fraud and money-laundering charges in the case known as Pandora II, with voluntary court appearance set for August 3.