Browse Honduras Daily Stories

A Data Veritas poll finds corruption (21%), rising cost of living (19.6%), and unemployment (14.8%) are Honduras's most pressing problems, while public approval of the Asfura government remains predominantly negative.

A National Court judge suspended abbreviated proceedings against Gloria Judith Hernández Zelaya after she retracted her statement before the court in a case involving organized crime, environment, and corruption charges.

Former president Juan Orlando Hernández landed at Palmerola International Airport on Sunday, July 26, after receiving a US presidential pardon following his narcotics conviction, and now faces a separate Honduran judicial process in the Pandora II corruption case.

Christian Duarte, a former finance secretary, criticized Juan Orlando Hernández's return to Honduras after receiving a U.S. presidential pardon, calling him the leader of a criminal organization whose rule plunged the country into darkness and asserting he still owes a debt to Honduran justice.

Prosecutors accuse former president Juan Orlando Hernández of diverting at least 62 million lempiras (about $3 million) from state accounts through two foundations to finance his 2013 presidential campaign, funding advertising, advisors' travel, helicopter rentals for his family, and a luxury watch.

Ricardo Cardona, private secretary to ex-president Juan Orlando Hernández, returned to Honduras after four years in Nicaragua, denying any criminal charges despite multiple open corruption investigations against him.

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 Court of Appeals confirmed the definitive dismissal of former president Porfirio Lobo in the Pandora II graft case, while the prosecution of former president Juan Orlando Hernández in the same matter continues.

A judge postponed the initial hearing against former INAMI director Ninfa Flores and three co-defendants accused of fraud and abuse of authority to July 28, at the defense's request pending submission of evidence.

Former anti-corruption unit chief Luis Javier Santos says the Superior Court of Accounts issued clearance documents that accused officials used to avoid criminal prosecution, calling the institution a politically controlled body that served to shield the corrupt rather than hold them accountable.

Authorities are investigating former government officials over an alleged 92 million lempira (about $3.7 million) shortfall, as the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ) warns that Honduras remains among the region's most corruption-affected countries.

Honduras's audit court referred only four illicit-enrichment cases to prosecutors between 2019 and 2025, involving former officials from the social security institute, social investment fund, and two municipalities, with alleged unjustified wealth gains totaling L92.4 million (about $3.7 million).

National Police Director Rigoberto Oseguera Mass has reinstated officers previously removed by a 2016–2018 purge, including Francisco Javier Leiva Gamoneda, accused in a 2016 investigation of involvement in the 2009 killing of a drug-enforcement director, and Jorge Alberto Barralaga Hernández, convicted of money laundering in 2021.

Honduras's accounting tribunal will investigate L15.9 million (about $636,000) paid for two presidential meeting rooms at the Supreme Court during Rebeca Raquel Obando's tenure, after a failed public bid, a closed private bidding, and cost overruns of nearly L3 million above the original contract.

Marvin Ponce alleged Wednesday that five Liberal Party members of Congress are demanding bribes in exchange for votes on energy reforms aimed at reducing electricity theft and restructuring the state utility into three separate entities.

Francia Medina, a former prosecutor found guilty of stealing more than 88 million lempiras (about $3.5 million) held as evidence in Central Bank vaults, had her sentencing hearing postponed.

A payroll review shows at least seven officials with family or close ties to BANADESA president Héctor Vidal Cerrato Zelaya were hired recently in key roles, earning a combined 462,316 lempiras (about $18,500) monthly, prompting nepotism allegations amid farmer complaints about financing access.

The Public Ministry filed pretrial charges against former Congress president Luis Redondo and 11 former members of the dissolved Permanent Commission on six counts.

The Public Prosecutor's Office secured a new conviction against former officials and business people for large-scale fraud in the '14 Contracts' case involving the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS).

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.

An analysis of Honduras's migrant reintegration program found 581 beneficiaries and over L1.5 million (about $60,000) in payments listed in detailed records but not reflected in official summaries, raising questions about accountability in the L104.3 million fund distributed since January 2025.

Congress passed first reading of a transparency bill requiring companies and trusts to disclose their beneficial owners, aiming to meet international anti-money-laundering standards and keep Honduras off the Financial Action Task Force's gray list.

A judge issued a provisional dismissal for Steve Fajardo, identified as the son-in-law of Roberto Contreras.

The National Congress has failed to respond to transparency requests for information on institutional advertising spending, deputy travel allowances, and legislative social programs, violating the 10-business-day legal deadline.

A June 2026 survey by Data Veritas and Radio Cadena Voces found that 64.1% of Hondurans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, with corruption named as the leading national problem, while 74.6% disapprove of President Asfura's administration.

The Association for a More Just Society (ASJ) reported that over L113 million (approximately $4.5 million USD) in state funds were transferred to a nonprofit during the previous administration through contracts that allegedly bypassed public-bidding requirements, with 90% of the agreements operating outside legal frameworks.

Jorge Alberto Cálix Orellana, whose brother Mario José "Cubeta" Cálix was extradited to the US on drug charges, has been appointed director of the OABI, the state agency that administers assets seized from traffickers—a move that prompted a rights lawyer to warn of potential conflicts of interest.

Prosecutors arrested 11 current and former Central Bank of Honduras employees, including two active managers, on suspicion of 100 counts of embezzlement tied to the systematic theft of public funds over several years.

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.

Honduras's Central Bank said it respects ongoing investigations after prosecutors charged current and former employees with 100 counts of negligent embezzlement tied to a multimillion-lempira theft, with arrests made in Choluteca, Francisco Morazán, and Cortés.