Friday, August 14, 2026

Congressman Yuri Sabas faulted the government's energy-reform bill as lacking substantive change, warning that ENEE could be hollowed out like the failed state telecom Hondutel despite holding valuable assets such as major dams.

A Libre party congressman introduced a bill to overhaul the 2014 anti-bullying law, requiring schools to set up prevention programs, internal reporting systems, immediate support for victims, and conflict-resolution efforts.

The Finance Ministry has set preliminary budget allocations for government institutions as they draft the 2027 General Budget proposal, due to Congress by September 14, with Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules stressing the need to speed up public investment this year.

Under new rules taking effect later this year, the European Union will require Honduran palm-oil producers to prove through geolocation tracking and environmental compliance that their crops come from non-deforested land in order to keep and expand access to European markets.

Cohep, Honduras's main private-sector group, disavowed any role in Congressman Adolfo Ráquel's electricity-sector reform proposal, saying it has neither reviewed nor endorsed the plan and will not answer for its technical, legal, or financial fallout.

Adalid Irías, president of the consumer-advocacy group Defco, urged Honduras's consumer-protection office to meet with producers to pin down the causes of recent food-price increases, noting eggs are up 6 lempiras (about $0.24) per carton and other staples 3–4 lempiras, driven partly by drought and higher livestock-feed costs.

President Nasry Asfura urged Congress to pass energy-sector reforms aimed at cutting financial losses at the state-run electricity utility ENEE.

Leonardo Deras, a commissioner of Honduras's electricity regulator, warns that pressures from Middle Eastern conflict are likely to push power costs to their highest levels of the year in the fourth quarter, as deferred rate adjustments of about 6% per quarter may no longer hold.

ASJ, a civil-society organization, is urging Congress to aim energy-sector reform solely at overhauling the state power utility ENEE to improve efficiency, curb blackouts, and lower costs for poor households.

The national power utility ENEE has announced scheduled outages on August 14 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., hitting numerous neighborhoods, municipalities, and towns mainly in Atlántida department.

A L29 million (about $1.16 million) road project at the Los Cármenes intersection in San Pedro Sula — covering paving, a roundabout, signage, curbs, and retaining walls — is snarling traffic and will continue for at least two months, municipal officials say.

Honduras has approved land expropriations to finish an 8-kilometer, $57.7 million southern bypass around Tegucigalpa, with affected landowners entitled to fair-market compensation.

The government has committed more than L1.05 billion (about $42 million) in construction and supervision contracts to fill potholes and rehabilitate the national road network under an emergency decree, though various sectors are demanding proof of quality after recent rains.

Social Security beneficiaries in Tegucigalpa said they arrived before dawn two days running to seek medical appointments, only to find clinic gates locked, and complained of months-long delays and medication shortages.

Lech Poznań, the Polish club of Honduran forward Luis Palma, was diverted to Norway after bad weather prevented a landing in the Faroe Islands, pushing the UEFA Europa League playoff match back to 1:45 p.m. Honduras time.

Lawyers for Alexander Chande Ardón, the former mayor of El Paraíso, Copán, challenged the prosecutor's request that the court disregard its own financial expert report, calling the move extraordinary; a verdict is set for August 24.

Coiproden counted 363 violent deaths of children and young people in Honduras from January through July 2026, up 12% from the same period in 2025.

Marvin Omar Fernández, about 45, was killed when an unidentified attacker walked into his law office in downtown San Pedro Sula and shot him several times; police have opened an investigation and have yet to establish a motive.

Also reported by: TuNota (Canal 5 / TSI)

Congress has put off debate on an energy-reform bill at the government's request, delaying it indefinitely to allow more time to build consensus.

Also reported by: Once Noticias

A labor-union leader warns that 2.5 million Hondurans lack adequate food despite reported macroeconomic growth, arguing that low wages and weak job prospects drive mass migration and leave the country rivaling Haiti on poverty measures.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $92.3 million in its daily currency offering on August 13, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.8230 per dollar for August 14.

Honduras's tourism chamber says the part-time employment law Congress passed in March has proven unworkable, citing the difficulty of guaranteeing the fixed hours or event-based contracts it requires, and is asking lawmakers to revise or reconsider it.

Immunologist Mary Vallecillo of Harvard Medical School pushed back on a congressional health commission's proposal to require special sanitary licenses for used-clothing stores, saying the weeks-long shipping time in containers eliminates any risk of viral transmission.

The government will fund about 3,000 water-harvesting reservoirs nationwide, using geomembranes to store seasonal rainfall for livestock and irrigation through the dry months, after drought killed 300 cattle and cut milk output by 50% on unprepared farms.

The first class of UNAH's master's program in multimedia communication presented more than 24 research and innovation projects on artificial intelligence, digital media, and digital transformation, each aimed at solving problems identified across Honduras.

San Pedro Sula will mark Honduras's 205th independence anniversary with three days of parades from September 13 to 15, capped by a special show at Francisco Morazán Stadium featuring skydivers and Colombian musical groups.

The Honduran Tourism Institute is investing L8.25 million (about $330,000) in Santa Rosa de Copán to build a glass overlook in the La Honduras sector and a bird-watching tower at El Cerrito, turning former dumpsites into family recreation and tourism spaces.

Honduran club Marathón beat Antigua GFC 3-0 in Guatemala in the 2026 Central American Cup, taking three points to keep its hopes of advancing in the regional tournament alive.

Honduran forward Antony "Choco" Lozano has agreed to a one-year contract with CD Marathón, returning to the Honduran league after a knee injury ended his stint with Mexico's Santos Laguna.

Brayan Sánchez, a Honduran the United States deported to the Central African Republic, and a group of Cuban and Ecuadorian deportees are appealing to Florida lawmakers for help getting home, while Sánchez's wife says the Honduran government has offered little support and calls their plight an abuse of immigrants.

Also reported by: Radio América

Gerson Turcios, 23, who came to Rhinebeck, New York at 17 and built a life there, faces deportation after an old removal order surfaced following his arrest; neighbors, celebrities, and lawyers have launched a campaign to fund his legal defense and fight the order in court.

Ruth Yanira Quiroz turned herself in and appeared before a judge in La Ceiba, who released her on conditions including a travel ban and periodic check-ins, while she also faces a separate investigation into the alleged abuse of her 16-year-old son.

Also reported by: HCH

A court rejected an appeal by retired General Roosevelt Hernández, who must now appear for his first hearing on August 19 on charges tied to alleged actions against journalists and press freedom.

Conapremm, Honduras's national mass-mobility commission, has launched physical and mechanical inspections of buses ahead of Semana Morazánica to cut traffic accidents, drawing in police, the military, firefighters, and the Red Cross.