International
There is discontent in Honduras over several irregularities in the primary and internal elections
Many Hondurans have expressed their discontent and indignation over several irregularities in the primary and internal elections this Sunday, in which nine hours after the start of the voting the material had not reached the scrutiny centers, mainly in Tegucigalpa.
“They want to steal the elections from the Government, the military is also to blame because they have not fulfilled the mission of correctly distributing the electoral suitcases,” a woman who waited more than three hours to vote at the Republic of Nicaragua School, in the Miraflores neighborhood, in the eastern end of the capital of Honduras, told EFE.
The same woman, who identified herself as a militant of the Liberal Party, second opposition force, said that “it is absurd that the suitcases to this polling center have arrived so late, when the distribution center” of the electoral material “we have it 300 meters away.”
Regarding the recorded incidents, there have been non-coincident statements between the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Cossette López, who represents the National Party, the first opposition force, and another of the councilors, Marlon Ochoa, of Libre.
Among the recorded facts is the hiring, at the last minute, of urban transport minibuses, which have circulated through the capital without electoral and military custodians, which has created suspicion among citizens.
López told journalists that some ballot boxes do not appear and that she herself will go looking for them, and that the CNE will investigate why the delay in the distribution of electoral material was due.
In some polling stations, the material had not arrived nine hours after the start of the elections, which were opened at 07:00 local time (13:00 GMT).
“We are not looking for culprits, but solutions” and “do not contribute to misinformation or chaos. We have a report from the Armed Forces and only 24 educational centers remain to open, but those data do not match, ten trucks were exchanged for 90 buses to transport the electoral suitcases, the transport company has failed us,” López said.
Another unusual fact is that state minibuses have appeared full of electoral suitcases.
In the midst of this situation, hundreds of Hondurans went out to different streets of Tegucigalpa to protest the delay in the arrival of the material for the elections.
With flags with the blue and white of Honduras, the demonstrators burned tires in the four lanes of the Armed Forces boulevard, where the transit of vehicles had been interrupted for more than two hours.
“Out of the family” and “We want the polls” were the main slogans of the demonstrators in front of the Toribio Bustillo and Juan Guifarro López schools, in the Las Brisas and Betania neighborhoods, southeast of Tegucigalpa.
“We need the ballot boxes, because we want to vote, they have stolen our votes,” Dimas Hernández, one of the demonstrators, told EFE while holding a flag of the country.
Some of the polling centers in Tegucigalpa opened with two hours of delay, but in others, such as the Toribio Bustillo and Juan Guifarro López schools, until 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) they had not even received the electoral material, according to EFE.
The demonstrators warned that they will not lift the blockade of the boulevard until the National Electoral Council (CNE) sends the electoral suitcases, which has not allowed more than 1,000 people to exercise their right to vote.
Similar protests were also reported in the Morazán, La Travesía, La Joya and 21 de Octubre neighborhoods, among others.
The head of the CNE said that the people of Honduras have trusted them to develop the electoral process and that is why they were “shating their faces.”
Councilor Marlon Ochoa said that the delay in the delivery of the ballots is partly due to the non-compliance with the schedule of two printers corresponding to the department of Comayagua, center.
“If these printers had delivered on time, we would not have had to suspend the flows of making the electoral suitcase in the electoral logistics center for the office of the Central District (Tegucigalpa) punctually,” he stressed.
In addition, “there is a non-compliance of the transport provider, it was never considered in the specifications that transport in the Central District was going to be carried out by buses” and “in the same way, this change in the conditions with the transport provider was never accepted or communicated with the plenary of councilors,” he added.
“Thirdly, there are or were errors attributable to the National Electoral Council related to the loading and dispatch of electoral material in the Central District,” he said.
According to data from the Network for the Defense of Democracy (RDD), 67% of its observers recorded “delays” in the delivery of electoral material and the opening of the polls, while 33.3% reported logistical problems in the delivery of suitcases.
In addition, 50% of the observers of the GDR denounced “restrictions on the right and duty of electoral observation” by members of the Vote Receiving Board.
The head of the National Party bench, Tomás Zambrano, denounced that Libre “is boycotting” the elections with “the support of a highly ideological sector of the FFAA (Armed Forces).”
“This that Honduras is experiencing is not an accident, it is not a coincidence, it is the Venezuela in action plan, Libre is boycotting the elections with the support of a highly ideological sector of the Armed Forces… the delays in the arrival of electoral material and the opening of the polls had never happened, nothing is a coincidence,” Zambrano emphasized in X.
The National Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (Conadeh) asked Hondurans this Sunday to “stay calm and avoid confrontations.”
The human rights agency also called for avoiding the spread of disinformation and denouncing any irregularities.
“These problems generate special concern, since delays and lack of information affect the normal development of the electoral process, reducing public trust and generating uncertainty among the population. The perception of irregularities, misinformation and chaos can affect the transparency of the process and the legitimacy of the results,” Conadeh stressed.
For their part, opposition leaders blamed the Honduran Armed Forces and the Minister of Defense, Rixi Moncada, who is also the presidential pre-candidate of the ruling Freedom and Refoundation (Free) party, for the delay in the primary and internal elections.
The elections, which are prior to the general elections of November 30, began at 07:00 local time (13:00 GMT), but more than five hours later in several polling centers, mainly in Tegucigalpa, the capital, the material had not reached the polling stations, in an unprecedented fact. In other processes there were some delays, but for less time.
The distribution of all the material, by law, has always corresponded to the Armed Forces, whose Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Roosevelt Hernández, told journalists that the delay has obeyed “part of the experience that is being acquired.”
In addition, he acknowledged that in Tegucigalpa the distribution of electoral material began late, so some centers were arriving five hours later, as part of “the experience” that the military institution is acquiring.
The distribution of all electoral material at the national level, under the responsibility of the Armed Forces, began on March 4.
The allegations against the Minister of Defense are derived because she is also the presidential pre-candidate of Libre, whose party came to power after the triumph in the general elections of November 2021.
Moncada, according to Jorge Cálix, one of the presidential pre-candidates of the Liberal Party, the second opposition force, seeks to discourage voters of the Liberal and National parties, given the little support that she would have in Libre.
The senior military chief reiterated that the delay in the delivery of the material in some polling centers in the Honduran capital “are lessons learned” and that the Armed Forces are a “very professional” institution.
Hernández downplayed the opposition and many voters who blame the Armed Forces and the Minister of Defense, arguing that “it is not what a person can say, or analysts, are the actions and we are in the best disposition,” and that they were “looking for the solution to any unforeseen event.”
The 2025 electoral process in the country is costing Hondurans, with their taxes, 2 billion lempiras (78.4 million dollars), in a country where more than 60% of its ten million inhabitants live in poverty.
The primary and internal elections held in Honduras were extended for four hours in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the two most important cities in the country, due to incidents recorded in several polling stations, to which the ballots had not reached.
On national radio and television, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Cossette López, announced that the elections, which are prior to the general elections of November 30, will be extended until 21:00 local time (03:00 GMT) in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
He added that in the remaining 296 municipalities of the country the elections ended at 17:00 hours (23:00 GMT), as planned.
López asked the population that had not exercised the suffrage, to go out to exercise that right, despite the incidents, in what constitutes an unprecedented event in the Central American country, although in other processes there were delays, but not so prolonged.
International
WHO warns of increased disease outbreak risk in Venezuela amid low vaccination coverage
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of an increased risk of disease outbreaks in Venezuela, including vaccine-preventable illnesses, due to low immunization coverage across the country.
“The vaccination coverage in Venezuela, particularly against measles and other diseases, was already low, so the risk of measles cases and other illnesses is currently high,” said Ciro Ugarte, director for emergencies at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the WHO’s regional office.
Speaking during a video conference with journalists, Ugarte said the risk is especially high in shelters, where overcrowding could significantly accelerate the transmission of infectious diseases.
He also highlighted water quality as an additional concern in the aftermath of the disaster, noting that safe drinking water is not guaranteed in the most affected areas.
“Unfortunately, supply is scarce, making it very difficult to assess conditions in all shelters. That is why evaluating the quality of water provided to the population, especially in large shelters, is a priority,” he said during a briefing in Geneva.
Ugarte suggested that targeted vaccination campaigns could be deployed against mosquito-borne and other vector-transmitted diseases, particularly in overcrowded shelters and in areas where people remain displaced.
According to PAHO, eight health facilities have been assessed so far, all of which require assistance, with three reporting structural damage.
He also stressed that the José María Vargas Hospital, one of Caracas’s major public reference hospitals, requires urgent support due to critical conditions. The facility is currently treating 96 patients in an eight-bed unit, while its blood bank is operating at extremely low levels.
In La Guaira, the Rafael Medina Jiménez Hospital has reduced its capacity from 108 to 35 beds. Additionally, 22 other health centers have reported severe shortages, underscoring the strain on Venezuela’s healthcare system.
International
María Corina Machado’s attempted return to Venezuela reportedly halted amid US political concerns
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly pressured Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado and disrupted her planned return to Venezuela following recent earthquakes, amid concerns over a potential political crisis, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper that a private jet carrying Machado from the United States to Curaçao was ordered to turn back last week after U.S. officials concluded she intended to continue onward to Venezuelan territory, effectively reversing her earlier departure route from December.
The opposition figure had reportedly spent months preparing to re-enter Venezuela in an effort to renew pressure for new elections, following the detention of then-president Nicolás Maduro under an order issued by Trump. The U.S. president has since stated that Washington’s relationship with Venezuela’s acting leadership, headed by Delcy Rodríguez, is “excellent.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, intermediaries close to the White House warned Machado that proceeding with her return plan could jeopardize her support from Trump and undermine broader U.S. strategy toward Venezuela, potentially delaying electoral plans.
Despite these warnings, Machado reportedly attempted a second route back through Panama. However, Copa Airlines declined to transport her to Venezuela, citing concerns over possible retaliation from Caracas against the airline, according to unnamed sources.
From Panama City, Machado stated on Monday that the Venezuelan government had closed commercial airspace to prevent her return, calling it “urgent” to go back to the country to “face this catastrophe together,” without addressing reports of U.S. pressure.
Axios reported that Trump administration officials viewed Machado’s attempted return as “grotesque political opportunism” in the aftermath of recent earthquakes that have left at least 2,595 people dead and thousands injured, while also delaying reconstruction efforts and potential electoral processes.
Since Maduro’s detention on January 3, President Trump has reportedly expressed support for Rodríguez, the former vice president, who has agreed to trade, mining, and oil agreements demanded by Washington. Trump has described Venezuela as effectively operating under U.S. oversight and has claimed the country is improving economically through increased oil production and exports.
Venezuelan opposition groups based in the United States have urged the Trump administration to reconsider its relationship with Rodríguez and criticized Washington’s stated satisfaction with reconstruction efforts following the June 24 earthquakes.
International
Rush for Air Conditioners Sparks Tensions at French Supermarkets Ahead of New Heatwave
Scenes of long lines, overcrowded stores and customer disputes unfolded across France on Thursday as shoppers rushed to buy air conditioners and fans ahead of another expected heatwave.
The buying frenzy comes as the country continues to recover from last week’s extreme temperatures, which exceeded 40°C (104°F) in several areas and produced the warmest night on record, with an average temperature of 22°C (71.6°F). Authorities have linked the heatwave to at least 1,000 excess deaths.
Demand for cooling appliances has surged in recent days, prompting heavy traffic at appliance retailers. The situation intensified on Thursday when German discount supermarket chain Lidl launched a promotion on portable air conditioners and electric fans.
Videos shared on social media showed large crowds gathering outside stores, with customers pushing and rushing to secure the discounted products.
“Lidl France regrets the incidents that occurred in its stores,” the company told AFP, adding that employees were forced to manage tense situations in what it described as a challenging environment.
Outside a Lidl store in northwestern Paris, dozens of customers began lining up as early as 7:00 a.m., two hours before opening, while police monitored the crowd, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Although many shoppers remained in good spirits, tensions escalated as some people attempted to cut in line. “I will not open the store until they leave,” a store manager reportedly shouted as frustrated customers protested.
The situation worsened after customers discovered that the store, located in a working-class district of Paris, had only two air conditioning units available for sale.
One of the successful buyers, Lassana, who declined to provide his last name, said he had queued since 4:00 a.m. to secure one of the units.
Another customer, 69-year-old Fatou, was only able to purchase a small fan after what he described as a struggle. He criticized Lidl’s advertising as “misleading,” claiming police had temporarily closed access to the store because of the crowds.
Lidl France attributed the shortages to its fixed annual purchasing cycle, explaining that the promotional products had been ordered a year in advance and were offered at predetermined prices, limiting the available stock.
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