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Reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime. Read the entire Travel Advisory.
Do not travel to:
Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide, armed robbery, and kidnapping, remains common. Violent gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, rape, narcotics, and human trafficking, is widespread. Local authorities may lack sufficient resources to respond effectively to serious crime incidents. Around resort areas in the Bay Islands, which include Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja, there is a concentration of resources, and these areas are better policed.
Demonstrations occur regularly throughout the country and can be about a variety of political or economic issues. Protests, demonstrations, tire burnings, and roadblocks are frequent, unpredictable, and can turn violent. They can shutdown roads and highways, often without prior notice or estimated reopening timelines.
In December 2022, the Government of Honduras declared a “State of Exception” in response to high levels of extortion and other crimes. The declaration remains in effect and has been modified to include more cities. It allows the police to suspend constitutional rights in 226 of the country’s 298 municipalities.
The Honduran Ministry of Health declared in June 2024 a national emergency in Honduras due to an increase in dengue cases. The Ministry of Health has carried out dengue prevention, control, and surveillance activities, along with the promotion of preventive measures through the media and educational campaigns. It also carried out clean-up operations and campaigns, including the use of chemical and biological agents for vector control.
Please review the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and CDC Global Dengue for further information.
Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Honduras.
If you decide to travel to Honduras:
Gracias a Dios Department – Level 4: Do Not Travel
U.S. government personnel and family members are restricted from traveling to Gracias a Dios, the most eastern department. The department is an isolated region with high levels of criminal activity. Narcotics trafficking is widespread, and large portions of the department are particularly vulnerable to drug trafficking organizations. Infrastructure is weak, government services are limited, and police and military presence is scarce.
Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE IN A SPECIFIC CASE. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE APPROPRIATE FOREIGN AUTHORITIES OR FOREIGN COUNSEL.
U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa
Avenida La Paz
Tegucigalpa M.D.C.
Honduras
Telephone: +(504) 2236-9320 or +(504) 2238-5114
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(504) 2238-5114 or +(504) 2236-9320
Fax: +(504) 2238-4357
Business Hours: Monday - Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00p.m. Friday, 7:30a.m. to 3:00 p.m
Consulates
U.S. Consular Agent - San Pedro Sula
Banco Atlántida Building
11th Floor, across the street from Central Park
San Pedro Sula
Honduras
Telephone: +(504) 2558-1580
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: Please contact the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa: +(504) 2238-5114 or +(504) 2236-9320, extension 4100
Business Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays 7:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Closed Fridays.
List of Attorneys - U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa
Honduras is not a party to the Hague Service Convention. Although Honduras is a party to the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory, it is not a party to the Additional Protocol to the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory regarding Service of Process. The United States only has a treaty relationship with countries party to both the Convention and the Additional Protocol. In the absence of any prohibition against it, service of process in Honduras may be effected by mail, by agent, such as a local attorney, or through letters rogatory. Litigants may wish to consult an attorney in Honduras before pursuing a particular method of service of process, particularly if enforcement of a U.S. judgment is contemplated in the future.
Service on a Foreign State: See also our Service Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) feature and FSIA Checklist for questions about service on a foreign state, agency or instrumentality.
Prosecution Requests: U.S. federal or state prosecutors should also contact the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, Department of Justice for guidance.
Defense Requests in Criminal Matters: Criminal defendants or their defense counsel seeking judicial assistance in obtaining evidence or in effecting service of documents abroad in connection with criminal matters may do so via the letters rogatory process.
Requests for compulsion of evidence may be prepared in the form of a letter rogatory transmitted via diplomatic channels. See 22 CFR 22.1 regarding current consular fees. For general guidance about preparation and transmittal of such requests, see our Preparation of Letters Rogatory feature. Letters rogatory for compulsion of evidence should be transmitted in duplicate with appropriate Spanish translation to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Overseas Citizens Services, Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management, Western Hemisphere Division, CA/OCS/ACS/WHA. Mailing address: SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520.
Honduras is not a party to the Hague Evidence Convention. Honduran authorities have advised the U.S. Embassy that voluntary depositions of U.S. citizen willing witnesses in civil and commercial matters may be taken before U.S. consular officers in Honduras. Voluntary depositions of non-U.S. citizens can only be taken pursuant to a letters rogatory requesting judicial assistance from Honduran courts. Oral depositions or depositions on written questions of U.S. citizens may be taken by U.S. consular officers or by private attorneys from the United States or Honduras at the U.S. Embassy or at another location such as a hotel or office, either on notice or pursuant to a commission. If the services of a U.S. consular officer are required to administer an oath to the U.S. citizen witness, interpreter and stenographer, such arrangements must be made in advance with the U.S. embassy directly.
Honduras is not a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents. Documents issued in the United States may be authenticated for use in Honduras by (a) contacting the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office and (b) then having the seal of the U.S. Department of State authenticated by the Embassy of Honduras in Washington, D.C. Documents issued in U.S. states must first be authenticated by the designated state authority, generally the state Secretary of State.
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