Friday, July 17, 2026 — Evening Edition

Luis Javier Santos, the former head of the anti-corruption unit, says the Superior Court of Accounts issued clearance documents that accused officials used to escape prosecution, calling it a politically controlled body that shielded the corrupt instead of holding them accountable.

Honduras's National Police will accept digital documents stored in the Bien electronic wallet—including the national ID, driver's license, and firearms permit—as valid identification at traffic stops and in police operations, with safeguards to stop officers from screenshotting or misusing personal data.

The US Department of Homeland Security has capped international student visa stays at four years and foreign journalist permits at 240 days, or eight months, with extensions possible if approved, affecting Honduran students and media professionals hoping to work or study in the United States.

Marta María Saire, sexually assaulted twice as a child while in state care, still lacks adequate support despite a 2003 IACHR friendly-settlement agreement requiring Honduras to provide her with comprehensive rehabilitation.

Vice President María Antonieta Mejía has called on lawmakers to hold a technical debate on proposed reforms to the state power company ENEE, which faces losses of about 16 billion lempiras—roughly $640 million—and is choking off public investment in education and infrastructure.

Honduras hosts the Central American Beekeeping Congress July 22–24 in Comayagua, drawing producers and specialists from seven countries to share techniques and technologies; the country's 3,800 organized beekeepers manage about 40,000 hives and produce more than 800,000 kg of honey a year.

Honduras's Energy Ministry announced new fuel prices effective July 20, with kerosene and diesel rising about L1.29 to L1.37 per gallon, vehicle LPG dipping slightly, and domestic LPG and regular gasoline frozen under temporary subsidies.

A UNAH researcher warns that 750,000 Hondurans face severe food insecurity in July and August, with another 1.4 million experiencing moderate insecurity, as drought and flooding threaten to deepen the crisis.

Coffee grower Fredy Pastrana warns that Honduras's coffee industry is losing production for lack of pickers—worsened by poor roads and missing basic services in growing areas—and calls for policies to make farm work more appealing.

Residents of Tatumbla in Francisco Morazán report power cuts of 20 to 48 hours, especially in the rainy season, driven by crumbling electrical infrastructure, and are pressing the state utility ENEE to install new transformers and repair aging lines and poles.

Honduras's College of Civil Engineers confirmed that the expanded polystyrene, or durapax, placed in the Papa Francisco overpass in Tegucigalpa is temporary material in the expansion joints—not part of the structure—and poses no safety risk, though the bridge stays closed pending full technical clearance.

Honduras is spending 1.4 billion lempiras—about $56 million—this year to reinforce dikes and levees across the Sula Valley, its largest such investment on record, using innovations like riprap and Concrete Canvas to protect San Manuel, La Lima, El Progreso, Puerto Cortés, and Choloma from flooding.

Honduran health authorities voiced concern that more pets than children are being vaccinated in the country, insisting that protecting the population, especially children, must come first.

Although the government distributed $6 million in medicines across six departments under an emergency decree, doctors and patients say shortages of staff, surgical supplies, and fentanilo—along with unrepaired operating rooms—still undermine public hospital care and lengthen surgical waiting lists nationwide.

San Pedro Sula has confirmed 243 dengue cases in 2026 with no deaths, though health officials say seven recent patients show warning signs and two cases have been classified as severe dengue.

Also reported by: Radio Cadena Voces (X)

Patients covered by Honduras's social security system are urging authorities to expand coverage and improve service quality, saying specialist appointments are all but impossible to get.

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

Honduran forward Erick Puerto, who started both legs, helped Belarus's BATE Borisov edge Albania's AF Elbasani on penalties in Conference League qualifying, setting up a match against Switzerland's Sion.

Honduras has sworn in its largest delegation ever—140 athletes and about 170 people in all—for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo from July 24 to August 8, competing in 27 sports.

Also reported by: Infobae – Honduras, Radio América Honduras

Broadcaster Carlos Bustillo del Valle was found dead and decomposed in his home in the La Cruz neighborhood of Catacamas, Olancho, after neighbors reported a foul odor; the cause of death remains unclear.

Police arrested José Antonio Matute Meza on July 16 in Jutiapa, Atlántida, on suspicion of drug trafficking; he is accused of belonging to the Los Olanchanos gang.

Marco Sorto and Arnaldo Mejía died at Hospital Santa Teresa de Comayagua after suffering severe injuries in a fall from the bed of a vehicle Thursday night.

Detectives in southern Honduras seized an unplated vehicle in Choluteca and arrested three people carrying about 3 kilos of cocaine in a joint operation with police and a task force.