Friday, July 24, 2026

Congresswoman Alia Kafati introduced a bill to let Honduran presidents seek reelection only once, barring them from running again after two full terms, in an effort to close a legal gap open since 2015.

The Court of Appeals confirmed the final dismissal of former president Porfirio Lobo in the Pandora II graft case, even as the prosecution of former president Juan Orlando Hernández in the same matter continues.

Also reported by: El Heraldo, El Libertador, HCH, Radio HRN

Congress will dock one day's pay from at least 12 members of the National, Liberal, and Libre parties who skipped a July 23 session without justification, with the money going to schools and health centers.

Honduran PARLACEN member Doris Gutiérrez disclosed that Central American Parliament members earn a monthly salary of L117,000, more than $4,400.

A Libre congresswoman said her party will oppose the electoral law reforms sent to Congress this week unless Libre gains seats on the National Electoral Council and the Electoral Justice Court, arguing it deserves a place as one of the three largest political forces.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $86.8 million in its July 23 foreign-exchange sale, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L 26.7768 per dollar for July 24.

The private-sector business council says Honduras should borrow the $400 million in CAF financing to strengthen the housing bank and spur construction, but opposes taking on debt just to cover government operating costs.

Honduras's central bank says higher net foreign reserves expanded the money supply through currency conversion, but officials have partly offset that by absorbing liquidity from the financial system.

Qarim Qubain, president of the Cortés Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says Congress needs more time to build consensus on the contentious energy reforms, warning that persistent electricity costs are driving business investment away.

Honduras's construction chamber reported that 23 congressionally approved infrastructure projects have stalled over publication delays and proposed an Infrastructure Policy Council to improve coordination and continuity, a model it says has worked in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.

The national utility announced planned outages on July 24 in Francisco Morazán, Olancho, Santa Bárbara, Ocotepeque, and Cortés for scheduled maintenance, with cuts in Tegucigalpa lasting 6 to 8 hours.

The Tegucigalpa city government changed traffic flow at the busy Casamata and El Manchén intersection to ease congestion, improve safety, and address problem points flagged in technical studies, with new signage and driver-education campaigns underway.

Honduras's agricultural health agency has processed 5,312 lab samples and monitored more than 8.5 million birds across 125 farms to detect high-pathogenicity H5 avian influenza, focusing on rural communities and backyard flocks seen as most vulnerable to the virus.

Drought tied to El Niño has led Honduras's disaster agency, COPECO, to place 75 municipalities in the dry corridor under an indefinite yellow alert, while 49 remain on green alert and 113 are under monitoring for reduced rainfall across six departments.

The Judicial School held a national gathering of judges who specialize in organized crime, environmental, and corruption cases, aimed at strengthening the courts and the rule of law with support from the US Embassy's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau.

The National Autonomous University of Honduras has finished renovating the Dr. Jorge Haddad auditorium at its Faculty of Medical Sciences, spending 18.7 million lempiras, about $750,000, to modernize the 220-seat venue for academic and scientific conferences.

The Pedro Nufio teacher-training school is among 58 institutions taking part in the Judicial Branch's Legal Education in Human Rights program, which has trained 374 teachers to promote civic education and a culture of peace.

Special Olympics Honduras, which now operates in eight locations nationwide, plans to open three more sites and is recruiting volunteers and corporate sponsors to expand sports and inclusion programs for people with intellectual disabilities.

Honduras took in 23,952 deported nationals between January and June 2026, a 40% jump from the same period in 2025, while irregular migrant transit through the country fell 74%, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Also reported by: Radio América Honduras

Luane Morazán Castillo, 23 and six months pregnant, disappeared on April 19, 2023, after telling her husband she was going out to buy dinner and never returning; police have made little public progress on the case, which reflects a broader crisis of missing women in Honduras.

A Honduran woman reported a scam that used artificial intelligence to impersonate content creator Carlos Eduardo Espina in a fake video call demanding thousands of dollars by claiming a relative had been detained.

Authorities in Catacamas arrested a woman during a raid and seized six firearms, cash, and other evidence from her home.

Also reported by: HCH, Policía Nacional de Honduras

A 2005 US federal court document laid out a network of Honduran National Police officers, ranging from inspector to subcommissioner, accused of using their positions to protect cocaine shipments for Los Cachiros, one of the Atlantic region's most powerful criminal organizations.

A congresswoman has introduced legislation to establish a professional association for Honduras's insurance brokers, saying it would restore labor protections and create oversight to shield consumers and ensure market transparency in an industry that generated 21.2 billion lempiras in annual premiums in early 2026.

Defense Minister Enrique Rodríguez Burchard announced a 30% pay raise for enlisted soldiers, adding about 3,000 lempiras (roughly $120) a month at a cost of more than 570 million lempiras, effective July 2026.

Also reported by: Radio Cadena Voces (RCV), HCH

President Nasry Asfura said the government will receive former president Juan Orlando Hernández when he returns on July 26 as it would any Honduran citizen, without addressing the legal proceedings Hernández faces in the Pandora II fraud and money-laundering case.

Also reported by: Radio América Honduras

The municipality of Santa Elena in La Paz has passed an ordinance requiring NGOs, public and private institutions, and individuals to register with the mayor's office before working in local communities, with fines of 2,000 to 5,000 lempiras (about $80 to $200) for those who don't; analysts warn it echoes restrictions on civic space being pushed at the national level.

A congressman has proposed legislation allowing cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy to work from home with a doctor's authorization, citing their reduced mobility and heightened infection risk during treatment.

Congress has revived L100,000 (about $4,000) in social-aid funds per lawmaker under a new oversight framework in which legislators act only as liaisons, with an anti-corruption council helping draft the accountability rules.

Five community leaders in Tornabé face criminal charges after publicly defending their ancestral territory, as the Organization of Fraternal Black Hondurans reports armed operations and intimidation against the Garífuna community.

President Nasry Asfura announced $17 million in additional funding to extend ProOccidente, a rural development program, into Honduras's Dry Corridor, with the goal of bringing technical assistance, climate-smart technologies, financing, and market access to more than 4,500 small and medium-sized farmers.

Vendors at the Feria del Agricultor are absorbing a recent L2-per-pound cost increase to keep beef prices steady, though a drought threatening cattle feed could force adjustments in the coming weeks.

Presidential trade commissioner Melvin Redondo said Honduras has met the legal requirements of a US tariff review affecting 17% to 20% of its exports and has passed a decree banning imports made with forced labor to head off a possible 12.5% increase.

The state power utility ENEE will cut electricity for eight hours on Saturday, July 25, across several neighborhoods and commercial areas of San Pedro Sula for grid maintenance.

Tegucigalpa's municipal government has finished 80% of the work to rebuild a stretch of road in the 21 de Octubre neighborhood, where a retaining wall and slope stabilization will benefit more than 9,500 drivers a day.

The Ciudad Mujer Mobile clinic comes to Roatán on July 24 and 25 to offer free medical, psychological, and social services, including screenings and dental care, to women and children in the island municipality.

Honduras's College of Biologists has criticized Decree 107-2026, which speeds up environmental permits for agribusiness, energy, and tourism projects, arguing it weakens environmental protections, limits public participation, and risks irreversible damage to ecosystems and protected areas.

Fundación Terra has opened two new Trust training centers in the Nueva Capital and Monterrey neighborhoods, offering free courses in digital literacy, AI, cybersecurity, and job skills to students, teachers, and entrepreneurs in partnership with the OAS and Microsoft.

UNAH rector Odir Fernández says the university faces a budget crisis over L1.44 billion (about $58 million) in delayed state transfers this year and uncertain funding from a promised sale of the presidential aircraft that was meant to expand regional campuses.

About 50 riot police used shoving and tear gas to disperse a protest in Macuelizo, Santa Bárbara, where residents were demanding repairs to the run-down schools their children attend.

A tropical wave moving over Honduras on Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and 26, is expected to bring heavy rain nationwide, though temperatures will stay hot in every region.

The Honduran Navy has evacuated 258 people from Gracias a Dios department over the past 24 hours as heavy rain and flooding swelled the Kruta River, with 112 rescued from Tikiraya and Lakunka, the hardest-hit communities.

The Armed Forces will stage an air show on September 5 and 12 at Campo Parada Marte in Tegucigalpa, featuring F-5 and Tucano fighter jets, helicopters, acrobatics, and 12 skydivers, relocated from the traditional stadium venue for safety reasons.

Police and anti-kidnapping units rescued a 5-year-old girl and her caregiver in Las Vegas, Santa Bárbara, after kidnappers demanded 7 million lempiras (about $280,000) and abandoned the pair when officers swarmed the area.

Also reported by: Radio HRN

A man and a woman were convicted of sexual assault, aggravated assault, and family violence against three children ages 6, 9, and 12, with the stepfather sentenced to 43.5 years and his partner given an additional sentence.

National Police arrested a 26-year-old engineering student in San Manuel, Cortés, after a court-ordered raid on a home where officers seized 15 kilograms of marijuana worth about 500,000 lempiras (roughly $20,000) and equipment used to package drugs for distribution across the Sula Valley.

Also reported by: Radio América Honduras

National Police arrested a man in Tegucigalpa and seized 70 packets of cocaine, 20 packets of marijuana, and 80 bags of crack cocaine.