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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.

Yoro recorded 166 homicides between January and early August 2026, with residents of Olanchito and other municipalities reporting that escalating violence and robberies have upended daily life and eroded confidence in law enforcement.

Social-media videos and posts from Brayan Wilfredo Salgado Ruiz, one of six people killed in a massacre in Olanchito, Yoro, on August 4, have sparked widespread commentary as police investigate what they preliminarily suspect was a dispute between criminal organizations over illicit activities in the area.

Security Minister Gerzon Velásquez confirmed authorities are actively hunting Esteban Gumercindo Ferrera Rodas, alias "El Diablo," the alleged leader of the Diablo cartel, saying seized videos of the group's murders document extreme brutality and noting recent operations have found hideouts in rural mountain areas.

Harold Ulloa Ramos, 17, was kidnapped by two men on motorcycles near Santa Rita, Yoro, on August 3 and found decapitated the following morning, with his head left on a roadside and his body discovered separately.

Three of Honduras's five massacres so far this year have occurred in Yoro department, where rival criminal gangs, maras, drug-trafficking networks, and land-invasion groups are competing for territory across municipalities including Olanchito, El Progreso, and Sulaco.