Honduras experiences wave of murders, kidnappings and extortion in 2024

Throughout 2024, Honduras was hit by a string of brutal crimes that shocked the nation. High‑profile murders included a pregnant woman and her 11‑year‑old son in Trujillo, a 13‑year‑old girl whose body was found in Cortés, and a six‑year‑old girl discovered dismembered in Colón. Other violent incidents featured the killing of three island women in Roatán, a campus shooting that left a student dead, the murder of a child with Down syndrome in El Progreso, and a road‑side massacre that left three migrants dead in a van.

The year also saw disappearances turned fatal, such as five youths who vanished while moving houses in Tegucigalpa, and numerous cases of women killed by intimate partners. Extortion has become a daily fear for many Hondurans, further compounding the climate of insecurity. The spate of violence has drawn widespread public outrage and highlighted persistent impunity within the country’s justice system.