Tuesday, October 20, 2026 — Morning Edition

Congress President Tomás Zambrano has not ruled out a referendum letting citizens decide whether minors tied to gangs and organized crime should be tried as adults, a proposal that has legal experts debating constitutional limits and international child-protection obligations.

The Public Ministry is accepting applications from October 26 to 30 for assistant prosecutor posts and to build a precertified personnel database.

Congress is reviewing a proposal to let low- to medium-risk inmates, along with the elderly and chronically ill, serve the rest of their sentences at home under electronic monitoring, a measure aimed at easing prison overcrowding.

National Party congressman Kilvett Bertrand said Congress will consider security measures modeled on El Salvador's, including a ban on gang-related tattoos, harsher penalties for minors who commit serious crimes, and a possible maximum-security prison in Naco, Santa Bárbara.

Decree 250-2026, published in the official gazette on October 16, took effect, authorizing the Finance Ministry to allocate up to 11 million lempiras (about $440,000) to subsidize electricity rates for residents of Utila, Bay Islands, through local utility UPCO.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $85.4 million in its October 19 currency sale, setting a weighted average exchange rate of L26.8936 per dollar for October 20.

The Honduran private-sector council backs the IMF's 3.3% growth forecast for Honduras this year, citing headwinds that include weak US and European growth, climate impacts, energy shortages, fuel costs, and labor conflict in the transport and health sectors.

The Central Bank of Honduras said it will begin a phased return to the interbank foreign-exchange market late in 2026, with details to follow.

The Labor Ministry is holding an in-person job fair on October 20 in El Progreso, Yoro, and accepting digital applications from the western region, seeking professionals, technicians, and sales staff for administrative, supervisory, and customer-service roles.

Dr. Rodrigo Martínez, a respected physician in northern Honduras who spent 39 years in medicine before retiring in 2007, has died; he was known for his work at the Centro Médico Sampedrano and his care for generations of patients in San Pedro Sula.

Honduras recorded 1,471 breast cancer diagnoses in 2025 and the first half of 2026, with Francisco Morazán department reporting the most cases; health officials stress that early detection and prompt treatment save lives.

Claudia Ramírez, speaking for Honduras's medical association, responded to Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez's condemnation of the doctors' strike over unpaid salaries and poor working conditions, urging him and all sectors of society to unite in demanding that the government reform the health system.

Finance Minister Emilio Hércules says the money is there to pay doctors but that state agencies must first complete administrative steps required by law.

With a 43-day suspension of medical services dragging on, Congress president Tomás Zambrano called for continued talks between physicians and the government and warned that Congress could step in if negotiations fail to resolve the dispute disrupting public health care.

The Ministry of Health is running mobile medical clinics (UMACs) in Tela, San Carlos, Salamá, and Liure from October 19 to 23 to bring health services closer to rural and urban communities.

Samuel Santos, president of Honduras's Medical College, has asked the Constitutional Court to rule on a legal challenge to a decree and to stop the firing of physicians.

The National Congress's environmental committee met with Honduras's forestry institute to assess a bark beetle infestation affecting 488 hectares in Yoro department; officials say rainy weather is buying time to control the pest before it spreads.

A juvenile green sea turtle died in Roatán after a boat propeller struck it in a protected lagoon, prompting the Roatán Marine Park to urge captains to observe speed limits and keep a safe distance from marine life.

Honduras's National Institute for Professional Training (INFOP) will hold a job fair on October 23 in Tegucigalpa from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; registration requires a completed form, and attendees should bring an updated résumé.

Honduras's National Discipline Commission fined Real España 10,000 lempiras (about $400) after fans lit flares during a match against Estrella Roja, and also sanctioned Olimpia, Génesis, and Choloma for player misconduct.

Also reported by: Once Noticias

Work on the Roberto Martínez stadium in Siguatepeque, home to Atlético Independiente, is moving ahead as CONDEPOR Honduras installs a new playing field, with the club hoping to host home matches there next season.

Omar Antonio Castro Palma was charged with illegally occupying about 6.6 manzanas (roughly 4.6 hectares, or 11 acres) of Tolupán indigenous land in Victoria, Yoro, following a complaint the community filed in 2023; a preliminary hearing is set for February 3, 2027.

Gloria Marina López Pineda went on trial in San Pedro Sula on charges of killing her newborn daughter with a knife in May 2025; prosecutors presented forensic and witness evidence, while the defense offered documentary proof.

Unknown assailants killed a taxi driver on Seventh Avenue in Comayagüela on October 19; authorities are investigating but have not yet identified the victim or established a motive.