Friday, July 31, 2026 — Morning Edition

Congressman Rumy Bueso said the Liberal caucus rejects the government's energy reforms as a threat to the state utility ENEE and will offer a counterproposal to strengthen the public company without privatizing it.

Honduras will send no representatives to an Inter-American Court of Human Rights hearing on August 5 into the politically driven removal of former officials—among them ex-prosecutor Johel Zelaya and former electoral officials Marlon Ochoa and Mario Morazán—and will instead file only a written defense drafted by Congress and the attorney general's office.

Alba Consuelo Flores, who ran the Health Ministry under former President Juan Orlando Hernández, will appear voluntarily on August 4 before a specialized court to answer charges of fraud, misconduct, and forgery over a $47.5 million purchase of seven mobile hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that prosecutors say cost the state roughly twice their estimated value.

A public-opinion poll finds that 79.3% of Hondurans still want an international anti-corruption commission (CICIH) installed, even after the government rejected the mechanism, reflecting deep distrust of the country's courts, police, and security institutions.

Congress president Tomás Zambrano signed an agreement bringing the National Congress into the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative to strengthen transparency, accountability, and citizen participation.

Finance Minister Emilio Hércules said Honduras sold $815 million in bonds this year—$615 million to manage debt and $200 million for the 2026 budget—with a new sovereign bond carrying a 6.40% interest rate, down from 8.65% on the previous issue.

Honduras will introduce license plates embedded with radio-frequency identification and install 40 electronic readers nationwide to track vehicles, cut the 990,000 unregistered cars now on the roads, and tighten law-enforcement and border controls.

Tegucigalpa's water utility (UMAPS) is fining businesses and homes L2,000 to L5,000 for wasting water and tampering with distribution pipes as the capital faces a shortage, with major reservoirs at 40% capacity or less.

Also reported by: Radio América Honduras

Honduras's medical association is pressing the Health Ministry to disclose how emergency-relief funds have been spent, including breakdowns of contracts, trust funds (fideicomisos), patient-selection criteria, and progress on clearing the surgical backlog.

Congressman Carlos Umaña, a physician, will introduce a motion to make vaccination mandatory in Honduras, citing immunization rates that have fallen below 70% and rising cases of whooping cough, measles, and dengue.

The subdirector of Hospital Santa Teresa de Comayagua said the facility is keeping to its scheduled surgeries and procedures despite a shortage of anesthetics.

Police in Tegucigalpa stopped a minibus driver on the Cerro Grande–Kennedy route after he drove against traffic to skirt congestion, endangering passengers and other motorists.

The National Police arrested two men suspected of drug trafficking in separate operations in Talanga and Guaimaca.

A federal indictment in New York accuses Yulan Andony Archaga Carías, alias 'Porky', of running MS-13 in Honduras as a criminal enterprise that smuggled cocaine to the US, rented out hitmen to drug traffickers, supplied machine guns, and ordered the killings of rivals and disloyal gang members.