Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Honduras is keeping its avian influenza health emergency in effect after confirming one case in a commercial poultry farm and over 500 cases in wild birds, saying that lifting the emergency could ease biosecurity measures and allow spread to commercial operations.

The government announced imports of beans from Brazil, Nicaragua, and Paraguay to prevent shortages affecting 1.7 million people facing food insecurity, but an agricultural anthropologist warns the strategy undermines local farmers and discourages domestic production.

Gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices increased across Honduras starting July 20, with sector officials attributing the hikes to Middle East instability affecting global oil supplies and urging consumers to adopt fuel-saving measures.

Sua Martínez Ibarra, a Honduran human-rights defender who has led regional efforts against human trafficking, was selected by the US State Department for its International Visitor Leadership Program and elected by fellow Latin American participants to moderate forums in Washington, St. Louis, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

The president of Congress's health committee said lawmakers could consider requiring vaccination records for children if measles cases and low immunization coverage persist, while authorities urge parents to get children vaccinated free at public health facilities.

Authorities are considering upgrading drought alerts from green to yellow for 75 municipalities in the Dry Corridor and possibly adding 40 more, as recent rains have failed to reverse critical water deficits affecting drinking water, agriculture, and forest-fire risk.

Honduras confirmed 17 cases of whooping cough by mid-July, nearly triple the six cases recorded in the same period last year, a surge health officials attribute to declining childhood vaccination coverage that has reached only 70% of the national target.

Torrential rains across Olancho and Gracias a Dios departments have cut off 80% of communities in Patuca municipality, leaving 30,000 people stranded with damaged roads, flooded crops, two missing young men, and over 60 families evacuated from Wampusirpi.

Foreign Minister Mireya Agüero said she will meet El Salvador's foreign minister in coming days to discuss Isla Conejo, a long-disputed islet in the Gulf of Fonseca, while affirming bilateral ties remain constructive.

Honduras's national human-rights ombudsman cited an average of 29 violent deaths of women per month over 24 years and warned that legal penalties alone cannot stop gender violence without stronger investigations, prevention policies, and institutional safeguards for vulnerable women and girls.

The San José Dam, Tegucigalpa's first major water-infrastructure project in three decades, has resumed work after a 17-month halt and is now 46% complete; city officials plan to finish by 2028 to help ease chronic water shortages in the capital.

Customs revenue from import duties (DAI) surged 18% year-over-year, reflecting stronger commercial activity and modernization efforts by the Customs Administration to streamline procedures and reduce processing times.

Honduras has recorded 5,064 cases of dengue and 89 severe cases, with the capital city accounting for 24% of infections and teenagers and young adults bearing the heaviest burden; health authorities also report 12 confirmed measles cases and 15 deaths linked to whooping cough, citing low childhood vaccination compliance.

Honduras will see mostly dry conditions with weak scattered rains in the east, center, and west, high temperatures peaking at 39°C in Choluteca, and air-quality concerns from Saharan dust at 35 micrograms per cubic meter; authorities urge hydration and respiratory protection.

Honduras is planting 1,000 manzanas (about 700 hectares) with high-yield certified rice seed imported from the Dominican Republic in a pilot program costing roughly 5 million lempiras (about $187,000) to improve grain quality and reduce import dependence.

Honduras's liquidation commission says it will complete the operational closure of seven institutions created under the previous administration by August, with the Finance Ministry handling final administrative steps in September; audits have uncovered irregularities now under investigation.

Finance Secretary Emilio Hernández Hércules said Honduras is proceeding with an open auction of the presidential aircraft and plans to issue up to 16 billion lempiras (about $640 million) in bonds, with proceeds aimed at paying accumulated debts to electricity generators and addressing the state power utility's financial crisis.

Honduras must answer to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on August 5 over its failure to implement a 2023 court order reforming impeachment procedures, a case linked to the removal of Prosecutor General Johel Zelaya and Judge Mario Morazán.

President Nasry Asfura signed an agreement with Spanish firm Dominion to build a 15,000-square-meter hospital in Puerto Cortés with 140 beds and 60 emergency spaces, financed by Denmark's government and a German financial institution, to serve the region's growing population and reduce travel for specialized care.

A year-long drought has reduced agricultural supply and driven up prices for everyday produce, with the basic food basket rising 6.16% (about 800 lempiras / $30) since June 2025, and the food-security observatory warning that 2.8 million Hondurans could face food insecurity by year-end.

The El Progreso municipal council reversed a roughly 300% vehicle-tax hike after four days of protests by transporters, businesses, and residents, restoring prior rates and offering tax credits to those who already paid the higher amount.

Honduras has confirmed six measles cases, including four in a family that traveled to Copán, with health authorities investigating seven contacts and urging parents to complete vaccination schemes as inoculation coverage lags at 70% of the 95% target.

The government unveiled a multisectoral plan to combat food insecurity by 2035, coordinating 13 ministries to boost agricultural output, expand irrigation and financing, establish grain reserves, and strengthen school nutrition programs in rural areas.

Honduras is executing a $624 million modernization of Puerto Cortés, expanding docks 4 and 5, adding container cranes, and acquiring specialized equipment to boost capacity and efficiency at the country's main Caribbean logistics hub.

The Inter-American Development Bank ranked Honduras among the region's fastest-growing exporters in early 2026, led by coffee, apparel manufacturing, bananas, and palm oil, though it warned of risks from market volatility and rising costs.

Honduras's immunization director said a rigorous review of three child deaths following vaccination found no scientific evidence of a causal link, attributing the deaths to preexisting medical conditions, and urged parents to keep children's vaccination schedules current.

Honduras has launched a centralized registry administered by the banking regulator to identify the true owners of companies, trusts, and investment funds operating in the country, aimed at eliminating corporate anonymity and meeting international transparency standards.

Honduras's Health Ministry confirmed three dengue deaths in 2026, including a 16-year-old and a 6-year-old in Choluteca, and warned that patients arriving late at hospitals face much lower survival rates; officials urged immediate care at the first sign of symptoms.

Honduras auctioned its Embraer Legacy 600 presidential aircraft to a Mexican engineering company, THEBE Ingeniería y Consultoría, for 137.8 million lempiras (about $5.1 million) on July 10, with the government pledging proceeds to health and education.

A 6-month-old in Cofradía, Cortés, became Honduras's twelfth confirmed measles case, linked to four locally transmitted infections in the area; health officials warned that national vaccination coverage remains at only 70%, below the 95% threshold needed to prevent spread.