Date: Oct 09, 2025
Dear LAWGista,
On November 30, Hondurans will head to the polls to vote for president, members of congress, and mayors. But the road to these elections has been paved with violence, polarization, and political stagnation—leaving voters with a deep distrust in the entire electoral process.
The violence has been relentless. At least four candidates have been assassinated since March. On September 9, Oscar Bustillo Oseguera, a deputy candidate for the Freedom and Refoundation Party (LIBRE), was gunned down in his own home while his family watched. Between September 2024 and July 2025 alone, the University Institute for Democracy, Peace, and Security (IUDPAS) at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) documented at least 560 cases of political violence and conflict. Beyond the assassinations, the attacks have included physical assaults, defamation, intimidation, humiliation, and property damage—much of it between LIBRE and the National Party (the party of former president Juan Orlando Hernández, now sitting in a U.S. jail for drug trafficking) in the department of Francisco Morazán, with women bearing the brunt of the violence.
But here’s what should outrage us even more: the violence has completely overshadowed the fact that none of the presidential candidates are offering real solutions. Not one is seriously addressing the pervasive corruption and impunity, the rampant violence against women, the crushing poverty and inequality, or the climate crisis bearing down on Honduras. Instead, they’re slinging mud and trading insults. Christian Democratic Party candidate Mario Rivera’s big idea? Make Honduras a commonwealth of the U.S. Seriously.
The Honduran people have lost faith—and who can blame them? Only 1 in 10 believe elections are fair. A mere 10% trust political parties or Congress. As a colleague working on poverty reduction put it: “Honduras sees little change with each election, and I don’t see these elections changing the country’s course much at all.” Why such despair? Because every election since the 1990s has promised change and delivered nothing—no policies, no programs that actually improve people’s lives.
The Honduran people deserve so much better. They deserve elections free from violence and fear. They deserve candidates who will actually fight corruption, reduce poverty, tackle the climate crisis, and put criminals behind bars—not empty promises and political theater.
LAWG is watching closely. We’re monitoring the campaign for human rights violations, and we’re working with Senate offices and partner organizations to organize a briefing on these elections. The question we’ll be asking: What role can the U.S. play in bringing about real change in Honduras?
Watch this space.
Adelante,
Vicki Gass
LAWG Executive Director
