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
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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
-
International2 days agoMexico reports 64 dead, 65 missing after devastating central region floods
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemala arrests first escaped gang member after Barrio 18 prison break
-
International5 days agoMaría Corina Machado calls 2025 Nobel Peace prize a victory for venezuelan people
-
International2 days agoVenezuela calls for continued global pressure to secure ‘just peace’ for Palestine
-
International2 days agoPope Leo XIV to skip COP30 in Brazil but plans future visit, Lula confirms
-
International5 days agoNetanyahu says Trump deserved 2025 Nobel Peace prize
-
International4 days agoPeruvian president Jerí leads prison raids to tackle organized crime
-
International4 days agoVenezuela launches ‘Independence 200’ defense plan amid U.S. naval presence
-
Central America2 days agoFraijanes II prison in Guatemala reports gradual escape of 18th Street gang inmates
-
International15 hours agoSheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
-
International2 days agoHeavy rains leave dozens dead in Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz
-
International15 hours agoArmed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
-
International15 hours agoVenezuelan media faces fresh restrictions after reporting on opposition leader’s Nobel win
-
International15 hours agoCaracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win