Wednesday, September 30, 2026

A plane owned by a company whose proprietor was tied to drug trafficking involving former presidents Juan Orlando and Juan Antonio Hernández in the Pandora case is taking part in the government's cloud-seeding operation to fight drought in Honduras's dry corridor, at a cost of more than 16 million lempiras (about $640,000).

The prison authority said Marco Antonio Bográn Corrales was not freed after a court ruling because he faces another pending criminal case, and so remains in custody.

President Nasry Asfura signed the Energy Justice Law, which restructures the state power utility ENEE by splitting generation, transmission, and distribution into three subsidiary companies while keeping them state-owned, a move intended to cut losses and improve electricity service.

Also reported by: HCH

A bill by Congressman Juan Carlos Lagos would double the security-tax threshold for personal savings-account transactions from about 150,000 lempiras (roughly $6,000) to 300,000 lempiras (roughly $12,000), widening the range subject to the lower two-lempira-per-thousand rate to benefit more Hondurans, the lawmaker says.

The Public Ministry has requested preliminary proceedings against five Libre party members of Congress and two former Social Development Ministry officials on suspicion of fraud and breach of official duties that harmed the state.

Patri Friedman, a charter-city investor, attended a conference at Roatán's Próspera ZEDE in early September to press the Honduran government over the legal status of the special economic zones, which the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional in origin but which remain active.

Honduras's Anticorruption Council urged the Supreme Court to resolve a years-long cassation delay in the Bográn mobile-hospital case, warning that the holdup erodes public trust in the justice system.

At the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, Honduras's chief judge, Wagner Vallecillo Paredes, pledged to roll out digital case files and step up the fight against human trafficking, aiming to ease court delays and improve support for victims.

Farm advocacy groups and human-rights experts called on Honduras to write UN-recognized peasant rights—including access to land, water, seeds, and food sovereignty—into national law and public policy to tackle rural poverty and build climate resilience.

The Honduran business council reported food and beverage inflation of 5.57% in August, citing drought from El Niño and higher transport costs, while overall inflation reached 6.20% and private-sector credit grew 20% through June.

The Central Bank of Honduras allocated $113.6 million in its September 29 currency auction, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.8937 per dollar for September 30.

Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules warned that a six-month suspension of the fuel tax, proposed in Congress, would cost the government 6.6 billion lempiras (about $264 million) in lost revenue that would have to be offset by cutting elsewhere in the budget.

The government and the Association of Agro-industrialists (Ashda) agreed Monday on a plan to streamline production financing through the national development bank (Banhprovi), stabilize fuel prices, and strengthen legal protections for the agricultural sector.

Transport operators in San Pedro Sula must complete free physical and mechanical inspections by October 2 to obtain permits for passenger excursions during the Morazán holiday, with drivers facing fines starting at L2,000 (about $80) for missing safety equipment such as fire extinguishers or spare tires.

A bill advancing in Congress would ban unauthorized speed bumps on Honduras's main highways, require technical certification, and direct the Infrastructure Ministry to inventory and replace non-compliant devices within 12 months.

The Tropical Wave, operated by Galaxy Wave, ran aground on a sandbar at La Ceiba's port while returning from Roatán on September 29, but naval and rescue teams evacuated all passengers and their baggage unharmed, and port officials are still investigating the cause.

Also reported by: El Heraldo

Honduras's month-long doctors' strike, now in its fourth week of assembly-led protests, has left non-emergency patients waiting weeks for rescheduled appointments as doctors demand back pay, contract renewals, wage adjustments tied to inflation, and more health-sector funding.

The National Autonomous University of Honduras says it will keep running free bus service for students despite demands from the transport regulator to formalize operations and complaints from private bus operators that the program cuts into their revenue.

Honduras will send five athletes—Mario Ramírez, Iker Escoto, Isabella García, Dana Vides, and Alessandra Sierra—to the Central American and Caribbean Fencing Championship in Nicaragua from October 7–13.

The National Human Rights Commission (CONADEH) will work with Mexican authorities to deliver humanitarian aid to more than 400 Hondurans who left in migrant caravans in recent days, according to the ombudsman's human-mobility coordinator.

A 56-year-old Honduran woman is being sought by Salvadoran authorities after allegedly lending her cellphone to a prisoner under police guard at a San Salvador hospital; her family says she did not know it was illegal and meant only to help him reach relatives.