Honduras Security News

A judge ordered two brothers, Denis Josué and Junior Joel Puerto Ramos, held pending trial for the May murder and incineration of three men in El Cimarrón, with an initial hearing set for August 27; four suspects are now in the case.

A young man was found dead floating in Jucutuma Lagoon in San Pedro Sula with his hands and feet bound; police are investigating and attempting to identify the victim.

A Honduran court acquitted Alexander "Chande" Ardón, a former mayor deported from the United States, of money-laundering charges after finding technical and mathematical errors in the prosecution's financial analysis of his alleged unjustified assets.

Security Minister Gerson Velásquez reported that human trafficking occurs across Honduras, with recent investigations revealing that family members—including parents—have been implicated in selling or exploiting children, cases documented in Choluteca and Olancho departments.

Three men were killed by gunfire in different neighborhoods of Yorito on the night of August 23, sparking fear among residents who reported hearing gunshots across the municipality.

Roatán will receive 50 new police officers, investigators, and a forensic laboratory supported by the Security Ministry and Public Ministry, in response to recent incidents and the island's growth as a major tourism destination.

Military Police arrested a suspected MS-13 member in the Smith neighborhood of Comayagüela on suspicion of drug trafficking, seizing cocaine, crack, marijuana, and cash.

Two men, identified as Kevin Ruiz Sánchez and Kelser Orlando Castillo, were shot and killed Sunday afternoon inside a home in La Ceiba's Bonitillo sector; one was the homeowner's son, and authorities are investigating the motive.

Religious images and relics in the chapel at Hospital Gabriela Alvarado in Danlí were found damaged and overturned, alarming patients, staff, and families who called the vandalism reprehensible.

An explosion in the engine room of the Miss Georgina, a fishing vessel operating in the Cajones banks off Gracias a Dios on August 23, killed the captain and left one crew member missing; four others were rescued.

A man collecting scrap metal was struck by a vehicle on Tegucigalpa's ring road while attempting to cross lanes; he suffered head injuries and fractures and was taken to Hospital Escuela.

Génesis Acosta Morales, 20, was shot and killed outside a plaza in San Antonio de la Cuesta, San Jerónimo municipality, on the night of August 22; authorities are investigating and have not yet identified a motive or suspects.

Anti-extortion authorities arrested four men accused of belonging to the Los Argueta criminal organization in Omoa, Cortés, including one suspected of involvement in an attack that killed five police officers near Corinto.

Gerson Aparicio, 25, was killed when he fell beneath a tractor during road-paving work on the highway between Tegucigalpa and Lepaterique in Francisco Morazán.

Police arrested Jeremías Ávila Dilbert, 30, in La Ceiba in connection with the August 17 shooting death of lawyer Dereck McNeil in Roatán; authorities say the investigation continues to identify other suspects.

Two children found a pistol in the Rioblanco sector of Catacamas, Olancho, while walking home from school; the 10-year-old accidentally fired it, fatally shooting his 8-year-old brother.

Two Hondurans, aged 17 and 21, were arrested in Jacksonville, Florida on August 15–16, along with a Nicaraguan and a Cuban, in connection with the July 16 killing of an 18-year-old Nicaraguan man; all four are in custody pending trial and face immigration proceedings.

Walter Peña, whose daughter Angie disappeared in Roatán in January 2022, says he has received written threats demanding he stop giving interviews and pursuing the case, but he will not be silenced and believes his daughter is still alive.

Honduras police confiscated over 1.5 metric tons of cocaine hidden in mangroves between Choluteca and Valle departments in two operations within 48 hours, with authorities saying they may find more as searches continue.

Dereck McNeil, a protected witness in the investigation of the 2022 disappearance of student Angie Peña, was shot and killed Monday on Roatán by armed gunmen; authorities are investigating how his identity as a protected witness was leaked.

Police arrested a 27-year-old Choloma resident on an outstanding warrant for drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm; the arrest warrant was issued by a local court in July 2023.

Carlos Eduardo Zaldívar Cervantes, alias El Texas, was rearrested on Friday in San Pedro Sula on suspicion of murdering Marvin Omar Fernández Vásquez, a 46-year-old law student, who was shot multiple times at his office on August 11; Zaldívar had been released the day before on drug-trafficking charges pending trial.

An unidentified man was found fatally shot in the head on a dark stretch of road leading to Danlí, with police launching an investigation after the body was discovered through a 911 call.

National Police arrested two Nicaraguan men in Comayagua on suspicion of using force and intimidation to rob multiple victims, following complaints from residents.

Rigoberto Medina, a mototaxi driver, was shot multiple times and killed between Nueva Esperanza and San Bartolo in Santa Cruz de Yojoa, then his body and vehicle were set on fire.

Honduras's child welfare agency (SENAF) placed a minor under protective custody and preventive detention after two TikTokers, known online as Urías and Soy Rosel, shaved the child's head as part of a viral video stunt.

Urías Jabin Lovo Montoya, a TikTok content creator, was ordered held pending trial in Danlí on charges of aggravated mistreatment of a minor and misuse of emergency calls, with an initial hearing set for August 25.

At least three people suffered minor injuries after a driver cut off by another vehicle swerved to avoid hitting others, struck the median, and uprooted a tree on Boulevard Fuerzas Armadas in Tegucigalpa.

Mauricio Josué Sarmiento, 21, a Honduran who entered the US irregularly in 2021 as a minor, faces charges in North Carolina for a hit-and-run that killed a 51-year-old man; ICE has filed a hold to be notified before his release.

The attorney for TikToker Rosel Archaga announced that his client will voluntarily appear before a judge to face charges of aggravated mistreatment of a minor, and will request alternative preventive measures rather than pretrial detention.