Browse Honduras Daily Stories

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.

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.

Police have neutralized at least 10 self-kidnapping hoaxes from January through July, in which perpetrators—often family members—fake abduction to extort money, documents, or property from relatives, a crime criminologists attribute to eroding social values and economic desperation.

A Honduran court approved the extradition of 30-year-old Humberto Eliseo Sánchez Baca, known as "El Chevo," to El Salvador, where he faces charges of aggravated extortion, organized crime, and conspiracy to commit murder.

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.

The Judicial School held a national gathering of specialized judges on organized crime, environmental, and corruption cases, aimed at strengthening judicial capacity and rule-of-law enforcement with support from the U.S. Embassy's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau.

The National Police graduated 20 officers as specialists in anti-drug tactical operations after completing a training course designed to strengthen capabilities against drug trafficking and organized crime.

A judge held an initial hearing against Wilmer Alexander Mejía Medina on charges of extorting a protected witness, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 21.

Experts say about 20% of Honduras's homicides involve attackers on motorcycles, a tactic that allows rapid execution and escape; a 2012 law banning two men per bike in certain municipalities remains poorly enforced.

More than 8,000 Honduran women have been murdered since 2005, with 139 cases recorded through June 2026, and the OV-UNAH warns crimes are growing more brutal, with patterns linked to organized crime.

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.

A specialized national tribunal convicted six people of drug trafficking, illegal weapons possession, and criminal association; sentencing is scheduled for August 7.

Honduras's public-transport sector reports paying roughly 500 million lempiras (about $20 million) annually to criminal gangs, with some bus and taxi routes in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula now shuttered due to threats and attacks on drivers.

Honduras's Congress unanimously passed a law requiring businesses to disclose their true beneficial owners in a new centralized registry, aiming to combat money laundering, corruption, and terrorist financing.

A congressional committee approved a bill that would impose life sentences and other severe penalties for killing or attempting to kill police, soldiers, judges, and other security and justice officials in connection with their duties, with the measure now headed to a floor vote.

A specialized national court in Honduras opened proceedings against four men accused of murder, attempted murder, and criminal association in a killing in the western part of the country.

Honduran armed forces report inflicting L324 million (roughly $13 million) in losses on drug trafficking networks so far in 2026 through crop destruction, lab dismantling, and seizures of cocaine, weapons, and vehicles, even as criminal groups shift routes and rebuild.

Prosecutors have formally charged a man accused of orchestrating four murders, including the killing of a son of former president Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

A judge scheduled June 9 for the ruling in the initial hearing against three former San Pedro Sula municipal officials, including the mayor's son-in-law, accused of money laundering, bribery, and fraud in a scheme that prosecutors say caused losses exceeding 45.5 million lempiras.

A judge scheduled a June 9 preliminary-hearing ruling on whether to send three former San Pedro Sula municipal officials — including the son-in-law of Mayor Roberto 'El Pollo' Contreras — to trial on charges of money laundering, influence peddling, and fraud tied to road contracts worth over 45.5 million lempiras (about $1.8 million) that prosecutors say were never lawfully executed.

The National Defense and Security Council approved the permanent closure of Dipampco after an oversight commission found protocol violations, illegal raids, negligence, and possible cover-up in a mission where five officers died, and authorities plan to replace it with a new specialized criminal-investigation unit.

The Asfura government dissolved the Dipampco police anti-gang unit and created a new Anti-Extortion Division led by Commissioner Jorge Daniel Molina Gálvez, who faces two prior prosecutorial charges for illegal detention and abuse of authority, drawing concern from human-rights groups.

Honduran authorities sent an alleged weapons supplier and other members of the Cártel del Diablo gang to pretrial detention on Thursday.

Former President Juan Orlando Hernández's defense filed a motion to keep his case in the Supreme Court rather than transfer it to the specialized organized-crime court, with a scheduled appearance set for August 3 on fraud and money-laundering charges in the 'Pandora II' case.

After disbanding the Dipampco following an internal probe linked to the deaths of five officers in Omoa, Security Minister Gerzón Velásquez announced a replacement División Antiextorsión y Asociaciones Terroristas that will handle organized-crime and extortion investigations nationwide.

Liberal Party congressman Salomón Nazar has introduced legislation to create a protected-identity program for judges and court staff handling organized crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism cases, with safeguards requiring court approval and preserving due-process rights.