Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Honduras's National Congress approved two cross-border electricity contracts to buy 80 megawatts—50 from Panama and 30 from Nicaragua—at 8 cents per kilowatt-hour to help address the national power deficit.

The Association of Petroleum Product Distributors (Ahdippe) called on lawmakers to more carefully analyze energy-system reform proposals, citing concerns about technical losses, ENEE debt recovery, and accountability before the bill advances.

President Nasry Asfura called on lawmakers to pass reforms to the Electricity Sector Law to address the state power utility ENEE's monthly losses of approximately 1.2 billion lempiras (about $48 million), which he said strain the government's capacity to fund health, education, and infrastructure.

The Patriotic Solidarity Coalition has called on Congress to strengthen a bipartisan electric-sector reform bill before passage, arguing it must address structural causes of the ENEE crisis—including arrears, technical losses, and governance failures—while guaranteeing state control of the system.

Honduras's power utility ENEE loses more than L17 billion (about $680 million) annually to technical inefficiencies and electricity theft, representing 35% of total output; Congress is advancing reforms to reorganize ENEE into subsidiary units for generation, transmission, and distribution, strengthen the regulatory commission, and establish an independent market operator.

The National Congress unanimously approved a motion directing its Family Commission to coordinate with prosecutors, police, and health regulators to investigate clandestine organizations that openly promote abortion services via social media and digital platforms, despite abortion being constitutionally banned and criminalized in Honduras.

Congressman Antonio Rivera Callejas says Congress will vote to extend by three to five months the deadline for the CNE electoral board to seat its third full board member, allowing it to meet quorum with a substitute member in the interim.

The Liberal Party's congressional delegation will present next week an alternative to the governing party's proposed reforms to the electricity sector, focusing on two disputed articles while seeking to rescue the state utility without privatization.

The opposition Liberal Party says it will back planned overhaul of Honduras's electric sector only if the government explicitly guarantees that the state-owned ENEE will not be privatized and public assets will not be pledged as collateral.

Congressman Arnold Burgos says the government lacks 13 votes from the opposition Liberal Party to pass reforms to Honduras's electricity sector, while denying plans to privatize the state utility ENEE.

Lawmakers passed a decree to restructure agricultural debt and forgive arrears, with PROGRANO president Dulio Medina urging the president to sign it to help grain producers regain access to credit and ensure the nation's planting season.

Congressman Marco Antonio Midence says passage of a law requiring centralized registration of beneficial owners would help Honduras comply with international anti-money-laundering standards and remove it from the Financial Action Task Force gray list.

Members of Congress have modified the content of at least three already-approved laws by using parliamentary reconsiderations and amendments to session records—a practice legal analysts say violates the Legislative Organic Law and echoes a 2018 corruption case.

Feminist and labor organizations are urging Congress to ratify two International Labour Organization conventions that would guarantee domestic workers access to social security, regulated hours, fair wages, paid leave, and protections against violence and discrimination.

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.

Lawmakers unanimously approved infrastructure contracts for 18 new classroom modules and rehabilitation of seven schools across five western departments, plus design and construction work at five hospitals nationwide, funded by international loans with sovereign guarantee.

Congress approved contracts for consulting, technology infrastructure, and external audits to modernize Honduras's customs agency and improve tax collection, funded through an IDB loan.

Honduras's National Congress unanimously approved sending food, medicine, water, and supplies to Venezuela following devastating earthquakes on June 24 that killed nearly 1,900 people, with lawmakers also committing one day's salary each to fund the assistance.

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 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.

Honduras's new Agro-Industrial Strengthening and Protection Law declares registered farmland, livestock, energy, and tourism properties legally protected against invasion or occupation, while exempting indigenous territories unless prior free-consent consultation is completed.

The National Congress could convene next week to approve reforms to overhaul Honduras's troubled state electricity utility ENEE, with backers claiming support from 65+ lawmakers and backing from international lenders seeking to stabilize the company's finances and reduce nationwide blackouts.

The Supreme Court's full bench approved a draft law creating a Judicial Council and establishing a judicial career system, proposals aimed at reforming Honduras's court structure and judicial personnel management.

Congress says it has secured the 65 votes needed to approve electricity-sector reforms aimed at modernizing the system and addressing ENEE's mounting losses—about 1.5 billion lempiras monthly—while rejecting opposition claims the measures would privatize the state utility.

Former Supreme Court magistrate Jacobo Cálix urged broad public debate on a proposed Judicial Council law before Congress approves it, cautioning that if the legislature appoints council members, political influence could undermine judicial independence and merit-based judge selection.

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 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 National Congress unanimously passed a financial relief law allowing farmers to restructure debts over 15 years and receive government subsidies covering up to 80 percent of agricultural insurance premiums to help the sector weather climate shocks and rising production costs.

Edgar Aguilar, an energy analyst at the ASJ (Foundation for the Study of Applied Law), says the National Congress's failure to advance an energy reform bill poses a direct fiscal risk to Honduras as the state utility ENEE continues to post multimillion-lempira losses.