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.
Central America
International tourism brings over $2.2 billion to El Salvador in 2025
International tourism has generated more than $2.2 billion in foreign exchange for the Salvadoran economy during the first seven months of 2025, according to the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur).
Tourism Minister Morena Valdez stated on Thursday that this figure reflects a favorable development of the tourism sector so far this year.
“Over $2.2 billion by July, and we estimate more than $3 billion in foreign exchange by December 2025. I believe we will perform quite well,” Valdez said in an interview with Frente a Frente.
These figures do not include the 91,000 international tourists received during the August holidays, who contributed $60 million to the local economy, according to the government.
The accumulated results by July represent 73.3% of Mitur’s estimates for foreign exchange generated by international tourism in 2025.
During the same period, tourism authorities recorded 2.3 million international visitors, which is 57.5% of the more than 4 million visitors projected by the government by the end of 2025.
Authorities have recently adjusted the tourism target: at the beginning of the year, Mitur anticipated 4.2 million visitorsafter receiving 3.9 million in the previous year.
International
Tabasco ex-officials linked to drug trafficking spark Mexico-U.S. tensions
The scandal involving two former state officials from Tabasco, southeast Mexico, linked to drug trafficking and now fugitives, has added tension to Mexico-U.S. relations, which had already been strained by President Donald Trump’s threats to send troops across the border to target cartels.
At the center of the controversy is the current coordinator of the Mexican Senate, former governor of Tabasco, and former Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López Hernández, a close ally of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018–2024), along with his then-security secretary, Hernán Bermúdez Requena.
According to the Mexican weekly Proceso, published two weeks ago, the criminal ties of the former officials were reported in 2022 by Mexican intelligence services during López Obrador’s administration when López Hernández was Secretary of the Interior.
Bermúdez Requena, known as ‘El Comandante H’, was appointed Secretary of Security in Tabasco in 2019 by then-governor Adán Augusto López Hernández, from the ruling Morena party, and is accused of being a leader of the criminal group ‘La Barredora’, a cell linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
On July 22, Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, confirmed that a warrant and Interpol red notice had been issued against Bermúdez Requena, who had been under investigation since 2024 for his links to organized crime.
International
Pope Leo XIV marks first 100 days with prudence and diplomacy
On August 14, Pope Leo XIV reaches his first 100 days as pontiff, a period marked by prudence, a reserved profile, and a strong inclination toward Vatican diplomacy. Since his election on May 8, the U.S.-born pope, who will turn 70 in September, has avoided major structural decisions, choosing instead to observe and listen before acting.
Among the most visible changes compared to his predecessor, Pope Francis, is a return to liturgical tradition: he has resumed wearing the red mozzetta, white pants under the cassock, and residing in the Apostolic Palace. He has also reinstated the Corpus Christi procession through the streets of Rome and resumed vacations at Castel Gandolfo.
So far, Robert Prevost has appointed only his personal secretary, leaving adjustments within the Roman Curia for later. Experts, such as Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, suggest that the pope should not be judged by immediate breaks or continuities with Francis, but rather by his long-term leadership style.
Ines San Martín of the U.S. Pontifical Mission Societies notes that Leo XIV “has spent these months listening more than speaking” and anticipates the first personnel changes may come in September. His style, inspired by Saint Augustine, emphasizes spiritual life, friendship within community, and charity.
On the international stage, the pontiff has reinforced his image as a mediator. He sent Cardinal Robert Sarah to official events, offered the Vatican as a venue for peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, spoke with Vladimir Putin, and received Volodymyr Zelensky twice. He has also condemned attacks in Gaza and reiterated his call to halt armed conflicts, rearmament, and the environmental crisis.
With a balance between tradition and prudence, Pope Leo XIV faces the next stage of his pontificate with expectations that his first strategic decisions will arrive in the coming months.
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Pope Leo XIV marks first 100 days with prudence and diplomacy
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