Honduras Politics News

Attorney Omar Menjívar argues that a bipartisan electrical-sector reform advancing in Congress would leave the state-owned utility ENEE intact but progressively transfer control of power service delivery to private companies, citing the precedent of Hondutel's decline after losing core telecom functions to private providers.

The National Agrarian Institute and the Central District Municipality have signed an agreement to distribute property titles to residents of villages near Tegucigalpa.

The Liberal Party's Congress members say they secured a clause prohibiting direct and indirect privatization of Honduras's national electricity utility, though they continue to raise concerns about sector competition, tariff reduction, energy theft, and the company's debt relief plan.

Congress approved a temporary six-month administrative amnesty allowing Hondurans to legally register commercial firearms without original purchase documents, provided they pass a background check and submit to ballistic inspection.

Honduras's traffic authority says current penalties—including a 600-lempira fine for speeding—have lost their deterrent effect and proposes expanding technological speed enforcement, breath-alcohol testing, and stricter sanctions to reduce road fatalities.

Liberal Party congressman Carlos Umaña said the party will not support a proposed privatization of the state power company ENEE and rejected the presidential designate's framing of the opposition's role as a junior governing partner.

Honduras's Public Ministry is investigating former Liberal presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla for alleged fraudulent management of his 2025 campaign funds, including money raised through a Florida corporation that has not filed required annual reports.

Honduras's judicial employee association has asked the Supreme Court to approve a 10% salary increase for approximately 6,000 workers, with a decision expected before the mid-year court recess in July.

A Honduran court has ordered television journalist César Silva to pay 300,000 lempiras (about $11,200) in damages to a Venezuelan man after a confrontational 2019 encounter, a case Silva says was dismissed under the previous administration but reactivated following the return of the Nationalist Party to power.

The Public Ministry is investigating the construction of public hospitals in Ocotepeque, Santa Bárbara, and Olancho departments, conducting raids at the Infrastructure Ministry to collect administrative, technical, and financial documents related to the projects.

Ninfa Flores, the former head of Honduras's National Institute of Migrant Workers (INAMI), appeared in court in Tegucigalpa for an initial hearing on charges of fraud and abuse of authority for alleged omissions that harmed the public administration.

President Nasry Asfura became the first Honduran leader to visit Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenski praised Honduras's shift in diplomatic alignment and support for Ukraine in international forums.

Honduras's Supreme Court has finalized a judgment requiring the municipal government, the environment ministry, and the contractor to pay approximately L280 million (about $11.2 million) in damages to 54 families who lost homes to geological failures in the controversial Ciudad del Ángel housing project over 13 years ago.

A corruption court convicted three former Social Security Institute officials, including Mario Roberto Zelaya and José Ramón Bertetty, of ongoing fraud in a 2016 CNA investigation into overpriced contracts for work at Hospital Regional del Norte, sentencing them to nine years and four months in prison.

Guatemala presented its legal arguments to the International Court of Justice regarding the strategic Zapotillo archipelago, which Honduras and Belize also claim.

The Agriculture Ministry and Tegucigalpa's municipal government began distributing certified seeds and fertilizers to 240 small farmers across 23 rural villages in the capital, a program worth more than 1.1 million lempiras (about $44,000) aimed at boosting food security and reducing production costs.

Former presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla called for scrapping and replacing the National Electoral Council, arguing it is controlled by political parties and risks repeating fraud in the 2029 elections, echoing concerns raised by Honduras's anticorruption council.

Sixty attorneys who topped a public-prosecutor competition asked Congress to pressure the Public Ministry after their swearing-in stalled for months following an April notification that was never followed up.

The Association for a More Just Society and the National Anti-Corruption Council have endorsed a proposal to split Honduras's state electricity company (ENEE) into three commercial companies for generation, transmission, and distribution, but analysts say the groups have softened their oversight of the Asfura government and that the reform has not been adequately discussed with the public.

The Supreme Court has ordered judges nationwide to notify the Treasury and affected agencies directly of final court orders authorizing embargoes against public institutions, ensuring payments comply with budget availability.

Honduras and the Dominican Republic are exploring direct flights to San Pedro Sula and deepening cooperation on tourism, trade, and investment to generate jobs and economic growth in both countries.

The National Congress will enter a one-month recess beginning June 23, with lawmakers returning July 24, but Congress President Tomás Zambrano said deputies can be convoked at any time if an emergency or matter of national interest requires immediate legislative attention.

The European Union is holding seminars on June 18 in San Pedro Sula and June 22 in Tegucigalpa aimed at training journalists, academics, and civic actors to identify and counter disinformation, AI-generated content, and foreign interference threatening Honduras's information integrity and democracy.

A transportation entrepreneur says the electoral authority owes his company 37 million lempiras (about $1.5 million) for services provided during Honduras's primary elections, claiming delayed payment has pushed his business toward collapse.

The US Embassy welcomes the Asfura administration's push to reform Honduras's electricity law, saying the changes would attract US investment, boost economic growth, strengthen energy security, and improve reliable and affordable power access for Hondurans.

The Liberal Party's congressional bloc said it will not support a reform to the state power utility (ENEE) unless the proposal explicitly guarantees the company will not be privatized.

Ninfa Flores Castellanos, who directed the National Institute for Juvenile Offenders from 2023 to 2024, appeared in court on charges of fraud and abuse of authority; a judge set an initial hearing for July 20 to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed with trial.

The Public Ministry and Criminal Investigation Agency seized documents from the Infrastructure Ministry as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in three public hospital projects in Olancho, Santa Bárbara, and Ocotepeque, costing over 2 billion lempiras; construction was suspended in May pending review.

Pending congressional reforms to Honduras's electric sector guarantee that ENEE employees will retain their union affiliation and benefits even after the state utility is restructured into separate generation, distribution, and transmission companies, and explicitly reject any privatization.

Ninfa Suyapa Flores, the former director of Honduras's juvenile detention institute, appeared in court for her arraignment hearing on charges related to her tenure at the agency.