Friday, July 24, 2026 — Evening Edition

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.