Wednesday, July 22, 2026 — Evening Edition

Honduras's audit office has opened an investigation into Yuscarán Mayor Johny Carrasco after videos showed him drinking and smoking inside municipal facilities, a possible breach of the Public Servant Ethics Code that could bring penalties ranging from suspension to removal from office.

Also reported by: La Prensa, TuNota (Canal 5 / TSI), Once Noticias, HCH

Congressman Antonio Rivera Callejas says Congress will vote to give the CNE electoral board three to five more months to seat its third full member, letting it reach quorum with a substitute member in the meantime.

After days of protests, El Progreso's municipal government canceled a planned near-300% increase in the vehicle tax, reverting to 2025 rates effective July 21, and will credit overpayments made between July 1 and 19 toward other municipal fees.

Honduras's labor federations say they will immediately push for a minimum-wage adjustment if inflation reaches 7%, invoking a safeguard clause in the current wage agreement and citing rising fuel and food costs that are eroding workers' purchasing power.

After seven weeks of fuel price drops totaling 15–20 lempiras per gallon, Honduras's petroleum distributors say food and service prices have not fallen in step, though the government's consumer protection office reports that 16 basic-basket items did drop in Tegucigalpa markets.

Lawmakers are reviewing a sweeping overhaul of Honduras's securities law that would let Hondurans channel savings and remittances into investments rather than consumption, an approach already common in Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.

A 10% US tariff on Honduran imports expires July 24, and while an economist says he hopes the United States will lift the duties to strengthen trade ties, he warns that the Trump administration may pursue new protectionist measures that could raise consumer prices.

Economist Ismael Zepeda says the Central Bank will struggle to rein in inflation through monetary policy given international conflicts driving up fuel costs and a planned third-quarter electricity rate hike, though the bank aims to soak up excess money supply and cut monetary emissions by 11%.

COHEP will host a webinar on July 29 at 9:00 a.m. on commercial opportunities in Mesoamerica, aimed at helping Honduran private-sector companies explore regional competitive advantages and economic integration.

Housing Secretary Francis Argeñal says most Honduran homes are built informally and without technical oversight, leaving them structurally vulnerable to earthquakes, and the government is working to promote earthquake-resistant building standards.

Honduras's state electricity company will cut power in various areas on July 22 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for distribution-network maintenance meant to improve reliability and reduce future disruptions.

Honduras has committed to paving 13 kilometers of road from Route 43 to the center of San Ignacio, a project officials say will give residents a safer, more efficient route.

Tegucigalpa faces severe water shortages, with reservoir levels at risk of dropping to 15–20% capacity if the rains do not pick up by late August, forcing many families to ration supplies and rely on water trucks as authorities warn of health risks from prolonged storage.

A shallow 3.1-magnitude earthquake struck 64 kilometers north of Tegucigalpa on July 21 at 12:35 a.m., with no reported injuries or damage.

Honduras's emergency agency raised drought alerts across 237 of the country's 298 municipalities as El Niño cuts rainfall, placing 75 municipalities in the dry corridor under indefinite yellow alert.

Also reported by: Radio América, Infobae – Honduras, Radio América Honduras

More than 30,000 sacks of food worth 4,000 lempiras (about $154) per household are being distributed across 12 municipalities in Honduras's dry corridor to 15,229 families who lost crops to drought.

Also reported by: Infobae – Honduras

Honduras's national sports authority is negotiating its first cooperation agreement with Brazil to strengthen athlete training, coaching, and federation development by drawing on Brazil's sporting expertise.

Honduran winger Luis Palma provided an assist and played a key role in Lech Poznan's 4–1 win over AGF Aarhus in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.

Congress's Migration Commission set up a technical working group with government agencies and civil-society organizations to strengthen legislation on human rights and migration.

Vilma Palacios, a Honduran nurse trained in the United States, was arrested by ICE in June and deported after six months in detention; she has now secured a position in Canada's public health system.

Prosecutors secured formal charges and a pretrial detention order against a suspect accused of torturing and killing three men in the Cimarrón district of Francisco Morazán on May 11; the victims' bodies were found burned after an apparent drug deal gone wrong.

Police arrested a 22-year-old man in La Lima, Cortés, on an outstanding drug-trafficking warrant issued in July 2024.

A court in Puerto Lempira ordered Stedman Reyes Valle held in pretrial detention on suspicion of illegal weapons possession and drug trafficking.

Criminal groups are extorting schools and teachers across Honduras, forcing private schools to close or relocate and displacing more than 550 educators in 2026, while the Education Ministry demands written complaints before it will act.