Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Congress will advance a motion supporting the government's push to build a high-security prison for gang and organized-crime members, with plans to define the site, costs, and funding sources to begin construction within eight to ten months.

The military gave Col. Juan Carlos Osorto Castillo a dishonorable discharge following an internal honor tribunal that recommended his separation amid an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of 8 million lempiras from the Támara prison canteen system.

Honduras reported three deaths during the Morazán holiday period—two by drowning and one in a traffic accident—as 23 government agencies, 33,000 volunteers, and emergency responders coordinated rescue and medical services nationwide.

On the first day of Honduras's Morazán Week holiday, authorities conducted 1,510 breathalyzer tests and found 47 positive results, confiscating 121 driving licenses and 11 vehicles as part of nationwide safety operations.

Honduras is deploying 33,000 security and medical personnel across 1,384 checkpoints, 187 tourist sites, and 304 ambulances for the Morazán holiday weekend to manage expected mass travel and respond to emergencies.

An appeals court confirmed formal charges against four people, including former Koriun Inversiones manager Iván Velásquez Castro, on money-laundering, weapons, and criminal-association charges stemming from the large-scale investment fraud scheme.

Congress has sent proposed criminal-code reforms to the Supreme Court that would allow police to arrest suspected gang and cartel members and search homes without judicial warrants in high-risk zones, with prosecutors validating the actions afterward.

Congress and the National Penitentiary Institute met to discuss and approve reforms to strengthen security in Honduras's prisons, including special controls on communications and maximum-security transfers for members of organizations designated as terrorist groups.

Employees of the fraudulent medical clinic Nueva Med say its Colombian management fabricated medical credentials, threatened workers into silence with confidentiality contracts, and used call centers with Honduran databases to solicit patients for costly fake treatments.

The National Defense and Security Council declared three criminal organizations terrorist associations in an overnight meeting at the presidential palace on September 18, with the groups' names to be announced once enforcement actions begin.

Prosecutors have charged six people with receiving stolen funds in a phishing attack that compromised a victim's bank account and drained L586,579 (about $23,500) through 17 transfers in under an hour.

Honduras's family and child welfare agency (Senaf) and prosecutors opened an investigation after a woman accused a Senaf psychologist of sexual abuse, though Senaf's minister disputed the accuser's age and says she is over 21.

Security Minister Gerzon Velásquez signed a $2 million contract with Canadian firm Forensic Technology Inc. to equip the National Police's investigative division with an Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) to strengthen criminal investigation capabilities.

An analysis of government data from 2013 to August 2026 found that 6,149 of roughly 10,000 pedestrians struck by vehicles in Honduras died — one death every 17 hours — with excessive speed, lack of road safety education, and driver and pedestrian irresponsibility cited as leading causes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Honduras's telecommunications authority reports that Israeli-made signal-blocking technology deployed across 21 prisons has cut outgoing calls by 99%, though inmates continue to evade restrictions by smuggling mobile devices and using Wi-Fi messaging apps.

The National Police expanded its intervention strategy from 30 to 50 municipalities nationwide to prevent criminal gangs from relocating operations to areas with less police presence, according to the police communications director.

Honduras has sanctioned 10,752 police officers and security officials between 2018 and mid-2026, with 4,500 dismissed; data shows an average of 9–10 officers fired weekly, though many cases remain stuck in administrative processes despite suspected ties to organized crime.

An analysis by Honduras's National Violence Observatory found 13 municipalities across 16 departments recorded zero or minimal homicides over the past decade (2016–2025), with Mercedes de Oriente in La Paz recording no murders at all during the ten-year period.

The Public Ministry will formally question former Deputy Security Minister Julissa Villanueva and demand she submit evidence she claims to hold about the disappearance of Angie Peña, after she publicly accused the Criminal Investigation Agency (ATIC) of obstructing the investigation.

A court rejected ex-prosecutor Francia Sofía Medina's request to be released pending sentencing in the BCH vault-theft case, though her lawyer argues she has already spent the legal maximum of 2.5 years in pretrial detention and filed an appeal.

Honduras's Security Ministry revised its 2025 homicide count upward from 2,337 to 2,626 deaths without explanation, a statistical adjustment that makes 2026 appear to show a decline when comparing the first half of each year.

Honduras's one-year firearms amnesty, enacted July 2 under congressional decree, allows owners of undocumented legal weapons to register them without penalty starting July 6 at the National Police's Firearms Unit in Tegucigalpa.

Between January 2019 and mid-June 2026, Honduras recorded 2,904 homicides of women, averaging over 360 deaths per year, with Cortés and Francisco Morazán departments accounting for 37% of cases.

Honduras's air-defense capabilities depend on an experimental radar developed by Defense University engineering students, covering a 100-kilometer radius, after Israeli-purchased radars installed in 2013–2014 failed to function.

A court acquitted José Rodimiro Arita, former director of La Tolva maximum-security prison, of money laundering and criminal association charges, but found him guilty of breach of duty for failing to report 445,000 lempiras (about $17,800) that entered the facility; sentencing is scheduled for August 4.

At least 187 former members of the disbanded Dipampco anti-gang unit have been referred to Human Resources and may face dismissal if an internal investigation finds they committed crimes, authorities say.