Saturday, September 12, 2026

Cossette López presented her credentials to OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin in Washington, formally taking up her post as Honduras's permanent representative to the Organization of American States.

Also reported by: La Prensa

Honduras's ambassador to Spain said about 2,000 more Honduran workers have been pre-selected for farm jobs there, adding to 1,100 already in the country, with selection beginning in October and arrivals set for January.

Leaders in construction and tourism say they can absorb thousands of Hondurans returning after the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), pointing to demand for bilingual, skilled workers but stressing the need for government coordination.

President Asfura blamed the widespread blackouts and rationing on peak-hour demand and fuel shortages at generating plants, and said energy reforms passed by Congress await a final review before publication and that roughly 1,500 megawatts will be put out to tender to stabilize the grid.

Honduras is adopting artificial intelligence in industry but lags regional peers because of gaps in infrastructure and advanced skills, with companies using AI mainly to automate physical tasks rather than to build complex models.

Small-business owners in the Sula Valley report daily losses of about L10 million (roughly $400,000) from six- to eight-hour outages in September, with three blackouts so far running up some L30 million in damage.

A major failure in Central America's regional power grid at 11:47 a.m. Thursday cut electricity across Honduras and neighboring Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador; ENEE and the national dispatch center began restoring power gradually, with no firm timeline for full recovery.

Also reported by: Once Noticias, Radio América

A kidney-disease patient urged Congress to approve without delay a promised subsidy for more than 7,000 Hondurans with the condition, citing treatment costs and a worsening health crisis.

Cindy Yasmin Contreras, a 30-year-old nurse at Hospital de Occidente in Santa Rosa de Copán known for her emergency and neonatal work during the COVID-19 pandemic, has died after a serious illness, prompting an outpouring of grief across the region.

Chepes Beach on Utila has been named to Corona Beach 100 – World's Best Beaches 2026, an international ranking that places Honduras's Bay Islands among the world's top destinations and spotlights their marine ecosystems and natural attractions.

A 122-member Colombian marching band from Liceo Lunita de Chía in Cundinamarca arrived in San Pedro Sula to perform at the centennial of Instituto José Trinidad Reyes on September 13 and in Honduras's Independence Day parade on September 15.

The San Pedro Sula Philharmonic Orchestra, 90% Honduran, will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York on November 30, with a fundraising gala concert in Roatán on September 13 to support the performance.

The 27th Roatán International Fishing Tournament opened September 10, drawing sport fishermen from Honduras, Belize, the Cayman Islands, the US, Central America, Europe and Africa, with top billfish prizes of up to $25,000 and a spot for winners in the 2027 Offshore World Championship.

Motagua defeated Platense to reach the semifinals, with Marco Tulio Vega scoring in the match as the team chases the title.

Police arrested a 21-year-old man in Roatán on suspicion of murdering former footballer Kenny Martínez, 22, who was shot on September 1 in Punta Gorda; investigators are still searching for a second suspect.

Also reported by: El Heraldo, Diez, TuNota (Canal 5 / TSI)

Prosecutors say the trafficking organization linked to former footballer Óscar Bonilla received at least six metric tons of cocaine from Colombia, using fast boats to offload shipments at sea before stashing the drugs and moving them gradually through La Mosquitia and the Honduran Caribbean.

A 30-year-old man was found shot dead in Choloma alongside a sign bearing a message about involvement with married women; authorities are investigating the motive and whether the sign is linked to the killing.

Honduras's Supreme Court declared September 14 a judicial holiday for Independence Day but ordered all scheduled hearings and essential court operations to go ahead as usual.

A coalition of civil-society groups is pressing Congress to urgently pass a comprehensive law shielding children from sexual abuse, pointing to alarming figures: 57 girls suffer sexual violence every day in Honduras, yet authorities log only one report every 3.2 hours, and seven in ten cases occur within the family.

Tegucigalpa's city government has banned the sale, distribution, and consumption of alcohol on September 15 along Boulevard Suyapa and at the National Stadium during Independence Day celebrations, with fines of 5,000 to 15,000 lempiras for violators.

Trash has piled up in San Pedro Sula's streets, markets, and waterways since April, with the city's waste contractor, Sulambiente, covering only 80% of its collection routes despite municipal fines and resident complaints about health and drainage risks.

Honduras's grid faces a 40-megawatt shortfall between 6 and 10 p.m., when peak demand reaches 2,130 MW against a maximum supply of 2,050 MW, a gap worsened by solar shutdowns at dusk and canceled regional imports.

Utila's municipal government held talks with South Korean companies on cooperation in renewable energy, water, sanitation, and environmental protection, including a feasibility study for a solar power system on the island.

Honduras's social-security institute, the IHSS, will operate only its emergency and hemodialysis units on September 15, Independence Day, with all other services closed for the national holiday.

Health authorities in the Bay Islands reported 269 suspected dengue cases as of September 9, 252 without warning signs and 17 with alarm signs; no deaths have been confirmed, though seven people were hospitalized.

Honduras's Education Ministry has set September 28 to October 2 as the Morazán Week break, a five-day closure for preschool through secondary students that is separate from the October 7–9 public holiday for workers.

Honduras's Education Ministry announced a four-day school closure from September 14 to 17 covering Independence Day on September 15 and Honduran Teachers' Day on September 17, with classes resuming September 18.

Millions of required textbooks remain undelivered across Honduras as the academic year nears its end, disrupting classroom instruction nationwide.

Honduran forward Dereck Moncada set up a goal in Lugano's 2–2 draw with Young Boys in the Swiss Super League on Saturday, his first assist in the top division.

Honduras's national blind football (football 5) team won the Central American championship, taking individual honors for the tournament's best goalkeeper and most valuable player.

FC Dallas has loaned striker Jaidyn Contreras, a Houston-born player eligible for Honduras, the United States, or Mexico, to Mexico's Tigres UANL through June 30, 2027 with a purchase option, after he helped the US U-20 team finish runners-up in the Concacaf championship.

Honduras placed fifth in the medal count at the 22nd Central American Student Sports Games, with young athletes competing across multiple sports in the regional championship.

Honduran naval and air forces, working with the Prosecutor's Office, seized 1,661 kilograms of cocaine packed in 55 bundles off Gracias a Dios and arrested four Hondurans in a Friday operation in the Caribbean.

A 61-year-old woman from Catacamas was detained at La Ceiba's Golosón Airport on Thursday after customs inspectors found she could not account for $11,629 in cash; prosecutors are investigating possible money laundering.

Also reported by: Radio América

A court wrapped up the evidence phase on September 10 in the trial of Jarol Rolando Perdomo Sarmiento, accused of killing nursing student Keyla Patricia Martínez, who died in police custody in Intibucá in February 2021; the judge will set closing arguments after a final site inspection.

Also reported by: HCH, TuNota (Canal 5 / TSI)