Thursday, October 15, 2026 — Morning Edition

Residents and water-rights groups protested outside Tegucigalpa's city hall against Mayor Juan Diego Zelaya's bid to hire the Israeli firm Mekorot for water advisory services, warning it could pave the way to privatization.

The US Department of Homeland Security is cutting the time refugees have to submit evidence and arguments when authorities move to revoke their protected status from 30 days to 10 days, a change officials say will shore up the integrity of the immigration system and curb fraud.

A human-rights attorney says proposed changes to Honduras's penal code could allow warrantless raids and vague terrorism charges that would criminalize land and environmental defenders and political dissidents, pointing to public distrust of the judiciary.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that Honduras has failed to carry out protective measures for Indigenous Tolupán members of the Broad Movement for Justice and Dignity (MADJ) in San Francisco Locomapa, Yoro, who remain at risk.

Honduras's public external debt stood at 27.6% of GDP as of August 2026, a level the central bank says points to a low risk of unsustainable public debt.

A UNAH economist warns that Honduras could take in more than $12 billion in remittances in 2026, yet its reliance on migrant money discourages investment in productive industries and exports.

Congress approved shifting 2.15 billion lempiras (about $86 million) from a small-business fund to Banhprovi, Honduras's development and housing bank, to expand lending for small and medium-sized businesses, productive activities, and home purchases through private financial institutions.

The first Digital Business Competitiveness Index shows that the 156 Honduran companies surveyed scored 58.7 out of 100 on digital maturity, with 59% already using generative AI tools but only 11.9% having a documented strategy to put the technology to work.

Available resources in Honduras's banking system grew 22.7% as of September 24, 2026, driven in part by higher domestic investment in government and central bank securities.

Central Bank president Roberto Lagos met with IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura in Bangkok to assess Honduras's economic program ahead of the sixth and final review, with both sides stressing fiscal discipline and structural reforms.

Honduras's coffee industry is rushing to georeference farms across 15 departments before a January EU environmental regulation takes effect, though officials admit the deadline is tight given how small and scattered most farms are, with 50% of Honduran coffee bound for European markets.

Fourteen of the twenty electrical circuits with the highest losses in Honduras lie in the Sula Valley, together accounting for 2.09 billion lempiras in the first half of 2026, a problem experts say must be a priority to stabilize the national power system.

Congress unanimously approved spending more than 3.1 billion lempiras (about $124 million) on 23 road projects—including paved stretches, bridges, and culverts—across El Paraíso and routes linking it to neighboring departments, all to be finished by 2028.

Infrastructure Minister Aníbal Ehrler confirmed that no tolls will be charged on the Tourist Corridor (El Progreso to Trujillo) or the Dry Corridor, with work on a 10-kilometer stretch of the Tourist route set to begin in late 2026.

Infrastructure Minister Aníbal Ehrler called urgent talks with the taxi sector and the transport regulator IHTT after drivers threatened to strike next week over fuel-linked fare disputes, while the government keeps CA-5 highway tolls flat and absorbs a 256-million-lempira deficit.

Infrastructure Minister Aníbal Ehrler briefed Yoro department officials on plans to overhaul a key tourism route, with construction set to begin in late October.

Tegucigalpa Vice Mayor Saray Rivera urged residents to conserve water, saying rationing will continue until the La Concepción reservoir reaches capacity; 262 families have received aid for flood damage from recent rains.

The National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) is giving students and staff the day off on Friday, October 16, to mark the anniversary of the university's autonomy, granted in 1957.

Alexander Gómez, 13, was honored at a school ceremony for his bravery in saving three children from drowning at El Edén beach in Cedeño, Choluteca; one child, Anyelo Sebastián Castro, died.

Mercedes Callejas Bonilla, widow of the prominent Honduran banker and businessman Jorge Bueso Arias, has died at 98; her funeral Mass is set for October 15 at the Basílica de Suyapa in Tegucigalpa.

Honduras may travel to Cusco, Peru — about 11,150 feet above sea level — to face Peru in a friendly on November 17, though both federations have yet to confirm the match.

Honduras's under-16 team closed the UNCAF FIFA Forward tournament in El Salvador with a 4-0 win over Puerto Rico, finishing fifth after a mixed group stage that brought losses to Guatemala and El Salvador but a 4-0 win over Belice.

A 74-year-old man in Comayagüela was arrested on October 14 after a doctor found images and videos of child sexual abuse on his phone while helping him free up storage space and alerted authorities.

A teenage girl was sentenced to six years in prison for her role in the April 2026 killing of content creator Katerin Mejía, who was lured to Trujillo under false pretenses and later found dead in Tocoa; two adults remain in pretrial detention in the case.

Also reported by: Ministerio Público (X)