Honduras Roundup: Campaign tensions, GPS delays, threats to journalists

Presidential campaigns close amid tension and uncertainty

The frontrunners for the 30 November elections are Rixi Moncada (Libre), Salvador Nasralla (Liberal) and Nasry Asfura (National Party). Their final campaign events were marked by mutual accusations of fraud, limited policy proposals and an increasingly fragile institutional environment, including internal disputes within the National Electoral Council (CNE). The military’s role in safeguarding electoral materials has also fuelled public suspicion.

Hall warns of legal action over delayed GPS for electoral kits

Ana Paola Hall, president of Honduras’s National Electoral Council (CNE), has sounded the alarm over the delayed arrival of GPS devices meant to track the transport of voting material. She says that while shipments of election kits began on schedule, legal and financial consequences may follow if the GPS units don’t arrive. According to her, vehicles transporting the materials do have tracking, but individual boxes remain unmonitored until the promised GPS is installed.

EU election observers hear threats to press freedom

The European Union’s Election Observation Mission (EOM) met with the Honduran press this week, learning about growing political risks for journalists covering the election. The Union’s team met with the Honduran Journalists’ Association, where media professionals expressed concerns over intimidation and threats tied to the heated political climate.

Nasralla denounces attacks on Liberal supporters during campaign

Salvador Nasralla, presidential candidate for the Liberal Party, accused political opponents, especially members of Libre, of assaulting his supporters during a campaign caravan in Tegucigalpa. He claimed that militants of the ruling party threw stones and used sticks, escalating fears of political violence on the eve of the vote.

US warns of sanctions for backing criminal terror groups

The US has issued a stark warning: any person or entity in Honduras that provides financial, logistical, or protective support to designated criminal organisations, such as MS-13 or Mexican drug cartels, could face serious consequences, including asset freezes, migration restrictions, and terrorism charges. Washington’s move comes after it labelled eight transnational criminal groups as "terrorist organisations," citing their threat to regional stability.