Honduras Security News

Juan Carlos Arvizú Hernández, a Honduran drug trafficker known as 'Lanchita' and convicted of trafficking over 5,000 kg of cocaine through Central America to the United States, failed in his appeal to reduce his 30-year sentence, which he claimed violated Honduras's extradition treaty.

A 44-year-old woman was arrested after security personnel at the National Penitentiary of Támara discovered marijuana hidden inside her shoes during a routine inspection at the prison entrance.

Heavy-transport drivers blocked the Pan-American Highway at San Lorenzo port on September 1, demanding the government cut fuel costs, which they say have eroded their margins while freight rates remain flat.

Allison Adriana Sánchez Montoya, 16, was fatally shot in the head at her home in La Trinidad, Comayagua, on Sunday night when her brother Danilo allegedly opened fire as she answered the door; she died at Hospital Santa Teresa despite medical efforts.

Security Ministry officials told Congress that Honduras's homicide rate fell 5.4% and multiple-victim killings dropped 30% under the government's crime-prevention strategy.

A man identified as Adán, who sold mobile phone credits, was found shot dead in the Lomas de Medina neighborhood of Puerto Cortés on August 31; his motorcycle was abandoned at the scene.

Alejandra Michel Ulloa Buezo, a 20-year-old mother from Comayagua, was fatally shot in her St. Louis apartment on August 29; her family suspects her ex-partner, though police have not confirmed an arrest or charges.

Criminal investigations unit ATIC conducted nine raids across multiple departments on August 31 targeting an extortion ring allegedly run by an inmate at the National Penitentiary of Támara, who used another person's bank account for over 51 million lempiras (about $2 million) in suspicious transfers.

A National Police inspector died in a firefight with alleged members of Gang 18 in the Rivera Hernández neighborhood of San Pedro Sula; authorities reported arresting several suspects in the operation.

Mario Roberto Flores Mejía, a Honduran fugitive who had been on the FBI's most-wanted list since 2007 with a $250,000 reward, was handed over to U.S. authorities after a Honduran judge approved his extradition to face charges in Philadelphia for the 2000 kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of a five-year-old girl.

Jeremías López Hernández, 27, was pursued on a motorcycle and shot dead in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Juticalpa on August 29; police are investigating and have not yet determined a motive.

A woman identified as Winiker Elena Galeas Alvarado was killed by gunfire on the La Vega highway in Tegucigalpa on August 28; unknown assailants shot her multiple times and left flowers at the scene.

A lawyer in San Pedro Sula accused of revealing the identity of a protected witness was released on condition of biweekly check-ins with authorities, pending trial on charges of obstructing justice.

Officers from the anti-extortion unit arrested Carlos Daniel Bonilla Martínez, 26, the suspected leader of Los Cabezones, and a 16-year-old during a raid in San Pedro Sula; the gang is accused of extorting roughly 1 million lempiras monthly from merchants and residents in Yoro.

Honduras's Anti-Extortion and Terrorist Associations Division (DAET) has arrested 224 suspects in two months while focusing operations on five high-crime zones—Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Atlántida, Choluteca, and Comayagua—using a scaled force of about 400 agents supported by intelligence and investigation units.

Police arrested a 76-year-old man in Tegucigalpa on suspicion of attacking his wife, 70, and daughter, 51, with a machete in their home while allegedly intoxicated; both women were injured and received medical care.

National Police officer Manuel López Rodríguez drowned on August 28 while spending his day off at the La Máscara natural swimming hole in Santa Elena, La Paz, after diving from a rock a third time and failing to resurface.

Former prosecutor Nilia Ramos criticized Honduras's courts for acquitting Alexander Ardón — who confessed in a U.S. court to drug trafficking and involvement in 56 murders — on money-laundering charges on August 24, and called for an audit of the judiciary to determine what went wrong.

A 19-year-old woman was arrested after police say she allegedly tried to rob 75-year-old tailor Juan Moreno Murillo at his home in Teupasenti, El Paraíso, then fatally stabbed him with his own scissors during a dispute.

A 37-year-old man from Danlí was extradited from the Dominican Republic to face charges of aggravated drug trafficking and criminal association; authorities say he coordinated a drug shipment from Colón to Danlí in November 2020 as part of an organized-crime structure.

Two people were killed Saturday afternoon when unknown assailants opened fire on their vehicle in El Pino, Atlántida, sparking alarm in the community.

The National Human Rights Commission reported 117 children under 18 died violently through August 2026—roughly one every 43 hours—with eight in ten victims aged 15–18, prompting officials to call the situation a national emergency requiring stronger prevention and protection measures.

Two young men riding a motorcycle were shot and killed in the La Pita sector of San Luis, Santa Bárbara; authorities have not yet identified the victims or identified suspects in the attack.

A judge ordered seven men accused of drug trafficking, criminal association, and illegal weapons possession arrested in Villanueva, Cortés, held in pretrial detention at Morocelí prison pending an initial hearing on September 2.

A San Pedro Sula court sentenced Héctor Danilo Gonzáles Lemus to four years in prison after he admitted to robbing a vehicle using violence or intimidation against two victims.

A judge ordered nine suspects held in pretrial detention on charges of trafficking cocaine and marijuana as part of an organized distribution network spanning Colón, Francisco Morazán, and Choluteca departments.

Border police arrested two men at the Ceibita checkpoint in Quimistán, Santa Bárbara, during a nighttime operation and confiscated $19,600 in cash from them.

A security guard in San Pedro Sula was ordered held in pretrial detention after a judge found sufficient evidence that he contacted a 12-year-old girl via WhatsApp and sexually abused her; preliminary hearings are set for November 4.

Antonio Herrera, 14, was found dead by relatives inside his home in Tegucigalpa's Centroamérica Oeste neighborhood, with authorities awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death.

The Public Ministry's anti-drug directorate and the Armed Forces seized a bundle containing 20 packages of alleged cocaine on a Choluteca beach, recovered abandoned at the shoreline in a black-wrapped package typical of organized-crime maritime drug trafficking.