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
Uruguay’s Lower House votes to legalize euthanasia amid broad public support
The Uruguayan Lower House voted Wednesday to legalize euthanasia, following the examples of Cuba, Colombia, and Ecuador, marking a significant social shift in a predominantly Catholic region.
The bill to decriminalize assisted death was approved 64-35 in the 99-seat Chamber of Representatives after an emotional night-long debate. The legislation will now move to the Senate, which is expected to pass it into law before the end of the year.
Under the new law, mentally competent adults suffering from terminal or incurable illnesses will be able to request euthanasia.
A key amendment appeared to help convince lawmakers who opposed the original 2022 proposal, requiring that a medical board review a case if the two attending doctors disagree.
Representative Luis Gallo, who opened the debate, recalled patients whose struggles inspired the bill.
“Let us not forget that the request is strictly personal: it respects the patient’s free and individual will, without interference, because it concerns their life, their suffering, and their decision not to continue living,” said Gallo of the center-left governing coalition, Frente Amplio.
Public opinion polls indicate broad support for euthanasia, from President Yamandú Orsi downward. Uruguay has also been a pioneer in legalizing same-sex marriage, abortion, and cannabis use.
International
Trump deploys National Guard as Pentagon plans quick-reaction force for civil disturbances
The Pentagon is considering creating a task force of hundreds of soldiers to be rapidly deployed anywhere in the country in the event of domestic civil unrest, according to The Washington Post, which reviewed Defense Department documents on Tuesday.
The proposed unit, tentatively named the “Rapid Civil Disturbance Response Force,” would consist of 600 soldiers on “constant alert”, capable of responding to incidents within just one hour.
According to the report, the force would be split into two equally sized units: one stationed at a military base in Alabama in the eastern U.S., and the other in Arizona in the west.
Internal documents indicate that if approved, the initiative could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly if troops are kept on 24-hour readiness and transported via military aircraft.
While the National Guard already maintains a rapid response unit, this new military formation would go further, potentially moving soldiers between states whenever necessary.
The plans remain preliminary, with funding potentially starting in fiscal year 2027 at the earliest.
This report emerges just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard for the second time since returning to the White House in January. On Monday, Trump instructed this volunteer force, which supports the Army and Air Force in emergencies, to move to Washington D.C. to combat crime and remove homeless individuals from the streets—a third deployment to the capital.
International
Colombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro after the U.S. administration labeled him as the leader of the “Cartel of the Suns” and authorized the Pentagon to use military force against drug cartels, which could lead to an intervention on Venezuelan soil to combat these criminal groups. Petro stated that any military operation without the approval of Colombia or Venezuela would represent an “aggression.”
Petro responded over the weekend following reports on Friday from U.S. media about President Donald Trump’s order to confront designated global terrorist organizations such as the Cartel of the Suns, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Tren de Aragua, including operations on foreign soil. Furthermore, the U.S. State Department increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture from $25 million to $50 million.
“I publicly convey my order given as commander of the Colombian armed forces. Colombia and Venezuela are one people, one flag, one history. Any military operation without the approval of the brother countries is an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean. It is fundamentally contradictory to our principle of freedom. ‘Freedom or death,’ Bolívar shouted, and the people revolted,” Petro posted on his social media, clearly expressing his disagreement with potential U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on The World Over program on Friday that controlling these terrorist groups is decisive. He added that, for the U.S., these gangs are no longer just local street gangs but well-organized criminal enterprises spreading from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
“We cannot continue treating these guys as local street gangs. They have weapons like terrorists, in some cases they have armies. They control territories in many cases. These cartels extend from Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, which is not a legitimate government,” Rubio told the audience.
Uruguay’s Lower House votes to legalize euthanasia amid broad public support
Trump deploys National Guard as Pentagon plans quick-reaction force for civil disturbances
Six officials detained for misusing municipal funds in Honduras, luxury goods found
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoMexico City airport resumes flights after heavy rain causes flooding and delays
-
International4 days agoMaduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
-
International4 days agoMexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states
-
International3 days agoMexico supports 81 nationals detained in Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ says president
-
International3 days agoMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to meet Guatemalan leader Bernardo Arévalo next friday
-
International3 days agoBrazil’s finance minister claims far-right forces blocked U.S. tariff talks
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemalan gang members riot, take prison guards hostage over leader transfers
-
Central America2 days agoHonduras condemns U.S. reward against Nicolás Maduro as baseless attacks
-
International2 days agoU.S. offers $5 million reward for arrest of haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier
-
International2 days agoColombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
-
International1 day agoTrump deploys National Guard as Pentagon plans quick-reaction force for civil disturbances
-
Central America1 day agoSix officials detained for misusing municipal funds in Honduras, luxury goods found
-
International1 day agoUruguay’s Lower House votes to legalize euthanasia amid broad public support