History of Honduras

thumb|Mayan representative hieroglyphic of the [[Yax Kuk Mo dynasty|Yax Kuk Mo Dynasty that later would become the emblem of the Kingdom of "Oxwitik" also known as Copán.|135x135px]]

thumb|140px|First coat of arms of Honduras given by the emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles I of Spain an 5th of the Holy Roman empire. By the time of the colonial era Honduras suffered a demographic change due the arrival of Spanish immigrants]]

Honduras was inhabited by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish introduced the wheel to them, in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Tol, the area east and west of Trujillo by the Pech (or Paya), the Maya and Sumo. These autonomous groups traded with each other and with other populations as distant as Panama and Mexico. Honduras has ruins of several cities dating from the Mesoamerican pre-classic period that show the pre-Columbian past of the country.

The Spanish founded new settlements such as Trujillo, Comayagua, Gracias, and Tegucigalpa. Starting in the colonial era, the territory of what is today Honduras was dedicated to harvesting, mining, and ranching. After its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, Central America joined the First Mexican Empire for a very short time. It fell in 1823 and the Federal Republic of Central America was created, which fell in 1839. After that, the Honduran territory became an independent nation.

Pre-Columbian era

Archaeology has demonstrated that Honduras has a multi-ethnic prehistory. An important part of that prehistory was the Mayan presence around Copán in western Honduras near the Guatemalan border, a major Mayan city that began to flourish around 150 A.D. but reached its zenith in the Late Classic period (700–850 A.D.). It has left behind many carved inscriptions and stelae. The ancient kingdom, named Xukpi or Oxwitik, existed from the 5th century to the early 9th century, and had antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century, a period named "predynastic Copán".

Mayan culture extended from what today are the departments of Copán, Ocotepeque and several villages around these territories, especially near the Ulua river. Other Mayan archeological sites in Honduras are El Puente, a smaller city that initially was independent for a period, but maintained a close alliance with the political and administrative center of Copán, and Rio Amarillo, believed to have been a crossing between the valleys of El Florido in Honduras and El Motagua in Guatemala. The Rastrojón archeological site, shows the construction styles of the residences of the upper or noble class of the Mayan society.

The Mayan civilization began a marked decline in population in the 9th century, but evidence shows people still living in and around the city until at least 1200. By the time the Spanish came to Honduras, the once great city-state of Copán had been overrun by the jungle, and the surviving Ch’orti' were isolated from their Choltian linguistic peers to the west. The non-Maya Lencas dominated western Honduras, and had several villages in the valleys. The Lenca were the biggest and most well organized society in terms of military organization by the time of the conquest in the early 16th century.

Many other regions had large societies. Archaeological sites include , La Sierra, and El Curruste in the northwest (thought to have been populated by Western Jicaque speakers), Los Naranjos north of Lake Yojoa, Tenampúa and Yarumela in the Comayagua valley. Some were built by the ancestors of the Lenca people during the pre classic period almost 1000 years before the Mayan cities. They have complex structures and in the past were prosperous cities thanks to locations that made them active centers of commerce, with access to both the Caribbean and the Pacific. Imports of merchandise from Guatemala and central Mexico, and traces of products that came from other areas of South America through trade routes have also been found.

thumb|Pyramid 102 of [[Yarumela, one of the oldest Honduran archeological sites.]]

As part of Mesoamerica, Honduras was home to complex settled societies for several thousand consecutive years, just as in other neighboring regions. It is clear that neighboring Maya societies and more distant Central Mexican societies were a major influence on Honduran communities, both through trade (especially with the Maya civilization, and, during the Formative Period, and the Olmec civilization) and occasionally migration. For example, during internal conflict in the late Toltec Empire around 1000 to 1100 AD, Nahuatl speakers migrated from Central Mexico and dispersed into different parts of Central America, including Honduras, especially Chapagua. In present-day El Salvador, they became the Pipil and founded Kuskatan, and in Nicaragua, they became the Nicarao.

Although most Honduran great urban areas belonged to the Mesoamerican cultural area, La Ciudad Blanca is the major exception. It lies on the very fringe of Mesoamerica and is better described in relation to the Isthmo-Colombian area. This civilization thrived from 500 A.D to 1000 A.D, and included sophisticated management of the environment in accordance with large urban centers. Despite being outside the Mesoamerican area, studies reveal that the city had Mayan elements, like a ball game, and some pyramidal structures similar to the ones found in western Honduras. Studies in the area show huge structures in the city, and one had a ceremonial area where they performed rituals to kings and gods.

Conquest period

thumb|left|140px|Coat of Arms of Trujillo, one of the oldest towns founded by the Spanish in Honduras.|alt=

Honduras was first sighted by Europeans when Christopher Columbus arrived at the Bay Islands very close to the island of Guanaja on 30 July 1502 on his fourth voyage. On 14 August 1502 Columbus landed on the mainland near modern Trujillo. Columbus named the country Honduras ("depths") for the deep waters off its coast.

thumb|After the fall of [[Tenochtitlan, Hernán Cortés made his journey to the region of las Hibueras, modern day Honduras.]]

In January 1524, Hernán Cortés directed captain Cristóbal de Olid to establish a colony in Honduras named "Triunfo de la Cruz", the modern town of Tela. De Olid sailed with several ships and over 400 soldiers and colonists to Cuba to pick up supplies Cortés had arranged for him. There Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar convinced him to claim the colony he was to found as his own. De Olid sailed to the coast of Honduras and came ashore east of Puerto Caballos at Triunfo de la Cruz where he settled and declared himself governor. Cortés got word of De Olid's insurrection however, and sent his cousin Francisco de las Casas with several ships to Honduras to remove De Olid and claim the area for Cortés. De Las Casas, however, lost most of his fleet in a series of storms along the coast of Belize and Honduras. His ships limped into the bay at Triunfo, where De Olid had established his headquarters.

When De Las Casas arrived at De Olid's headquarters, a large part of De Olid's army was inland, dealing with another threat from a party of Spaniards under Gil González Dávila. Nevertheless, De Olid decided to launch an attack with two caravels. De Las Casas returned fire and sent boarding parties to capture De Olid's ships. Under the circumstances, De Olid proposed a truce. De Las Casas agreed, and did not land his forces. During the night, a fierce storm destroyed his fleet and about a third of his men were lost. The remainder were taken prisoner after two days of exposure and no food. After being forced to swear loyalty to De Olid, they were released. But De Las Casas was kept prisoner, and soon joined by González, who had been captured by De Olid's inland force.

The Spanish record two different stories about what happened next. Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, writing in the 17th century, said that De Olid's soldiers rose up and murdered him. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, in his book named Verdadera Historia de la Conquista de Nueva España, says that De Las Casas captured De Olid and beheaded him at Naco. In the meantime Cortés marched overland from Mexico to Honduras, arriving in 1525. Cortés ordered the founding of two cities, Nuestra Señora de la Navidad, near modern Puerto Cortés and Trujillo, and named De Las Casas governor. However, both De Las Casas and Cortés sailed back to Mexico before the end of 1525, where De Las Casas was arrested and returned to Spain as a prisoner by Estrada and Alboronoz. De Las Casas returned to Mexico in 1527, and returned again to Spain with Cortés in 1528.

On 25 April 1526, before going back to Mexico, Cortes appointed Hernando de Saavedra governor of Honduras with instructions to treat the indigenous people well. On 26 October 1526, Diego López de Salcedo was appointed by the emperor as governor of Honduras, replacing De Saavedra. The next decade was marked by clashes between the personal ambitions of the rulers and conquerors, which hindered the installation of good government. The Spanish colonists rebelled against their leaders, and the indigenous people rebelled against the Spanish and against the abuses they imposed.

De Salcedo, seeking to enrich himself, seriously clashed with Pedro Arias Dávila, governor of Castilla del Oro, who wanted Honduras as part of his domains. In 1528, De Salcedo arrested Pedrarias and forced him to cede part of his Honduran domain, but Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor rejected that outcome. After the death of De Salcedo in 1530, settlers became arbiters of power. Governors hung and removed. In this situation, the settlers asked Pedro de Alvarado to end the anarchy. With the arrival of De Alvarado in 1536, chaos decreased, and the region was under authority.

thumb|Painting depicting the chief Lempira fighting against a conquistador

In 1537 Francisco de Montejo was appointed governor. He set aside the division of territory made by De Alvarado on arriving in Honduras. One of his principal captains, Alonso de Cáceres, quelled the indigenous revolt led by the cacique Lempira in 1537 and 1538. In 1539 De Alvarado and De Montejo disagreed over who was governor, which caught the attention of the Council of India. De Montejo went to Chiapas, and De Alvarado became governor of Honduras.

During the period leading up to the conquest of Honduras by Pedro de Alvarado, many indigenous people along the north coast of Honduras were captured and taken prisoner to work on Spain's Caribbean plantations in the encomienda system. It was not until De Alvarado defeated the indigenous resistance headed by Çocamba near Ticamaya (see: Sicumba at Wikidata) that the Spanish begin to go deeper into country in 1536. Alvarado divided the native towns and gave their labor to the Spanish conquistadors as repartimiento. Further indigenous uprisings near Gracias a Dios, Comayagua, and Olancho occurred in 1537–38. The uprising near the current city of Gracias in the eponymous Lempira Department was led by Lempira, who is honored today by the name of the Honduran currency.

Colonial Honduras

thumb|The [[La Merced Church (Honduras)|church of la Merced in the city of Comayagua was the first Cathedral of Honduras in 1550 and is the oldest Honduran church still standing.]]

The defeat of Lempira's revolt, and the decline in fighting among rival Spanish factions all contributed to expanded settlement and increased economic activity in Honduras. In late 1540, Honduras looked to be heading towards development and prosperity, thanks to the establishment of Gracias as the regional capital of the Audiencia of Guatemala (1544).

However, this decision created resentment in the populated areas of Guatemala and El Salvador. In 1549, the capital was moved to Antigua, Guatemala, and Honduras remained a new province within the Captaincy General of Guatemala until 1821.

Colonial mining operations

thumb|[[Tegucigalpa Cathedral|Cathedral of Saint Michael Archangel in Tegucigalpa was built during the XVIII century.]]

The first mining centers were located near the Guatemalan border, around the city of Gracias in Lempira. In 1538 these mines produced significant quantities of gold for the Spanish crown. In the early 1540s, the center of mining activity shifted eastward to the Río Guayape Valley, and silver joined gold as a major product. This change contributed to the rapid decline of Gracias and the rise of Comayagua as the center of colonial Honduras. The demands for unfree labor also led to further revolts and accelerated the decimation of the native population. African slavery was introduced into Honduras, and by 1545 the province may have had as many as 2,000 slaves. Other gold deposits were found near San Pedro Sula and the port of Trujillo.

Mining production began to decline in 1560, and thus the importance of Honduras. In early 1569, new silver discoveries briefly revived the economy, which led to the founding of Tegucigalpa, which soon began to rival Comayagua as the most important city of the province. The silver boom peaked in 1584, and economic depression returned shortly thereafter. Honduran mining efforts were hampered by lack of capital and labor, and by difficult terrain. Due to the shrinking size of the indigenous population they used as labor, the Spanish decided to import slaves from Africa for the mines. Mercury, needed to produce of silver, was scarce in Honduras, and its officials were neglectful.

Partially conquered northern coast

thumb|European pirates, especially British, French, and Dutch attacked Honduran towns during the colonial era.|alt=

While the Spanish made significant conquests in the south, they had less success on the Caribbean coast, to the north. They founded a number of towns on the coast such as Puerto Caballos in the east, and sent minerals and other exports across the country from the Pacific coast to be shipped to Spain from the Atlantic ports. They founded a number of inland towns on the north-western side of the province, notably Naco and San Pedro Sula.

thumb|Map of the town of Trujillo from the 16th century.

In the northeast, the province of Tegucigalpa resisted all attempts to conquer it, physically in the sixteenth century, or spiritually by missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the groups found along the Mosquito Coast were the Miskito, who although organized in a democratic and egalitarian way, had a king, and hence were known as the Mosquito Kingdom.

One of the major problems for the Spanish rulers of Honduras was the activity of the British in northern Honduras, a region over which they had only tenuous control. These activities began in the sixteenth century and continued until the nineteenth century. In the early years, European pirates frequently attacked the villages on the Honduran Caribbean. The Providence Island Company, which occupied Providence Island not far from the coast, raided it occasionally and had settlements on the shore, around Cape Gracias a Dios. After the conquest of Jamaica in 1655, the king of the Miskito visited England and made an alliance with the English crown. In 1643 an English expedition destroyed the city of Trujillo, Honduras's main port.

The British and the Miskito Kingdom

alt=|left|thumb|The flag of the British protectorate of [[Mosquito Coast|Mosquitia.]]

The Spanish sent a fleet from Cartagena which destroyed the English colony at Providence island in 1641, and for a time the presence of an English base so close to the shore was eliminated. At about the same time, however, a group of slaves revolted and captured the ship on which they were traveling, then wrecked it at Cape Gracias a Dios. Managing to get ashore, they were received by the Miskito, which led within a generation to the Miskito Zambo, a mixed-race group that by 1715 had become the leaders of the kingdom.

Meanwhile, the English captured Jamaica in 1655 and soon sought allies on the coast, and hit upon the Miskito, whose king Jeremy visited Jamaica in 1687. A variety of other Europeans settled in the area during this time. An account from 1699 reveals a patchwork of private individuals, large Miskito family groups, Spanish settlements and pirate hideouts along the coast.

Britain declared much of the area a British protectorate in 1740, though they exercised little authority there as a result of the decision. British colonization was particularly strong in the Bay Islands, and alliances between the British and Miskito as well as more local supporters made this an area the Spanish could not easily control, and a haven for pirates.

Bourbon reforms

thumb|left|The Fortress of [[San Fernando de Omoa]]

In the early eighteenth century, the House of Bourbon, linked to the rulers of France, replaced the Habsburgs on the throne of Spain. The new dynasty began a series of reforms throughout the empire (the Bourbon Reforms), designed to make administration more efficient and profitable, and to facilitate defense of the colonies. Among these reforms was a reduction in tax on precious metals and of the price of mercury, a royal monopoly. In Honduras, these reforms contributed to the resurgence of the mining industry in the 1730s. including some changes of government. Comayagua was the capital of Honduras until 1880, when it was transferred to Tegucigalpa.

20th century

Internationalization of the north (1899–1932)

Political stability and instability both aided and distracted the economic revolution which transformed Honduras through the development of a plantation economy on the north coast. As American corporations consolidated increasingly large landholdings in Honduras, they lobbied the US government to protect their investments. Conflicts over land ownership, peasant rights, and a US-aligned comprador class of elites led to armed conflicts and multiple invasions by US armed forces. In the first decades of the century, US military incursions took place in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924, and 1925. Because the country was effectively controlled by American fruit corporations, it was the original inspiration for the term "banana republic".

Rise of US influence (1899–1919)

thumb|President Manuel Bonilla.

In 1899, the banana industry in Honduras was growing rapidly. A peaceful transfer of power from Policarpo Bonilla to General Terencio Sierra marked the first time in decades that a constitutional transition had taken place. After fending off Guatemalan military forces, Bonilla sought peace and signed a friendship pact with both Guatemala and El Salvador. which concluded that Zelaya wanted to dominate the entire Central American region, The result was an enclave economy centered on the settlements and activities of the three major companies, Cuyamel Fruit Company, Standard Fruit and particularly United Fruit after it absorbed Cuyamel in 1930.

In 1899, Vaccaro Brothers and Company (later known as Standard Fruit), a New Orleans–based fruit corporation, came to Honduras in 1899 to buy coconuts, oranges and bananas on Roatán. formed his own company, the Cuyamel Fruit Company. The fruit companies received very large concessions of land, often forcing small holders who had been growing and exporting bananas on their land out of business. In addition, they brought in many workers from Jamaica and Belize, both to work on the plantations, but also as lower managers and skilled workers. The companies often favored the West Indian workers because they spoke English and were sometimes better educated than their Honduran counterparts. This perception of foreign occupation, coupled with a growing race-prejudice against the African-descended West Indians, led to considerable tension, as the arrival of the West Indians drove demographic change in the region.

The connection between the wealth of the banana trade and the influence of outsiders, particularly North Americans, led O. Henry, the American writer who took temporary refuge in Honduras in 1896–97, to coin the term "banana republic" to describe a fictional nation he modeled on Honduras. By 1912, three companies dominated the banana trade in Honduras: Samuel Zemurray's Cuyamel Fruit Company, Vaccaro Brothers and Company and the United Fruit Company; For instance, in 1917 the Cuyamel Fruit Company extended its rail lines into disputed Guatemalan territory. This course of action was opposed by the United States and had little popular support in Honduras. Bertrand promptly resigned and left the country. On the international front, the Honduran government, after years of negotiations, finally concluded an agreement with the British bondholders to liquidate most of the immense national debt. were killed, The peaceful transition of power was surprising because the onset of the depression had led to the overthrow of governments elsewhere throughout Latin America, Mejía Colindres, however, resisted pressure from his own party to manipulate the results to favor the PLH candidate, . Several Honduran merchant ships were sunk in the Caribbean by German submarines, which had already been sighted in the Gulf of Fonseca and the Caratasca lagoon, therefore air patrols began in 1942.

This was thanks to the modernization of the Honduran army and the foundation of the Honduran Air Force. The aircraft used for this operation were the North American NA-16, Chance Vought F4U Corsair, and the Boeing Model 40 and Model 95 modified to drop bombs. The first sighting of a German U-boat by the air force occurred on 24 July 1942 and was attacked by planes with 60-pound bombs, being the first and possible only official record of a military confrontation between Honduras and Nazi Germany. Many of the raw materials produced in Honduras were sent to the North American country to bring supplies to soldiers in the Pacific War against the Japanese. the North African theater, and later with its entry into the European theater in 1944 after the D-Day landing.

End of Caria's regime

Anxious to curb further disorder in the region, Honduras began exercising this sovereignty on September 1, 1972.

López' successors continued armed forces modernization, building army and security forces, concentrating on Honduran air force superiority over its neighbors. During the governments of General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro (1975–78) and General Policarpo Paz García (1978–82), Honduras built most of its physical infrastructure and electricity and terrestrial telecommunications systems, both state monopolies. The country experienced economic growth during this period, with greater international demand for its products and increased availability of foreign commercial capital.

Constituent assembly (1980)

In 1982, the country returned to civilian rule. A constituent assembly was popularly elected in April 1980 and general elections were held in November 1981. A new constitution was approved in 1982 and the PLH government of Roberto Suazo assumed power.

1980s

left|thumb|In 1986, Honduras bombed two Nicaraguan towns.

thumb|American troops arriving in Honduras in 1988 during Operation Golden Pheasant

Roberto Suazo Córdova won the elections on an ambitious program of economic and social development to tackle the country's recession. During this time, Honduras also assisted the contra guerillas.

President Suazo launched ambitious social and economic development projects sponsored by American development aid. Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps mission in the world, and nongovernmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated.

From 1972 to 1983, Honduras was governed by military juntas.

Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged a campaign against Marxist–Leninist rebels such as the Cinchoneros Popular Liberation Movement, notorious for kidnappings and bombings, and many non-militants. The operation included a campaign of extrajudicial killings by government units, most notably the CIA-trained Battalion 3-16.

Numerous trade unionists, academics, farmers and students disappeared. Declassified documents show that U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte personally intervened to prevent possible disclosures of these crimes, in order to avoid "creating human rights problems in Honduras". The U.S. established a continuing military presence in Honduras to support the Contras in their war against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, and to support the fight against leftist guerrillas in El Salvador and Guatemala. They also developed an air strip and a modern port in Honduras. U.S. military assistance to Honduras increased from $4 million in 1981 to $77.4 million in 1984.

President Suazo, relying on U.S. support, created ambitious social and economic development projects to help with a severe economic recession and with the perceived threat of regional instability. As the November 1985 election approached, the PLH could not settle on a presidential candidate and interpreted election law as permitting multiple candidates from any one party. The PLH claimed victory when its presidential candidates collectively outpolled the PNH candidate, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, who received 42% of the total vote. José Azcona, the candidate receiving the most votes (27%) among the PLH, assumed the presidency in January 1986. With strong endorsement and support from the Honduran military, the Suazo administration ushered in the first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents in more than 30 years. In 1989 he oversaw the dismantling of Contras which were based in Honduras.

In 1988, in Operation Golden Pheasant, US forces were deployed to Honduras in response to Nicaraguan attacks on Contra supply caches in Honduras.

1990s

thumb|Tegucigalpa after the Mitch Hurricane.

In January 1990, Rafael Leonardo Callejas won the presidential election and took office, concentrating on economic reform and reducing the deficit. He began a movement to place the military under civilian control and laid the groundwork for the creation of the public prosecution service. In 1993, PLH candidate Carlos Roberto Reina was elected with 56% of the vote against PNH contender Oswaldo Ramos Soto. He won on a platform calling for "moral revolution" and made active efforts to prosecute corruption and pursue those responsible for alleged human rights abuses in the 1980s. The Reina administration successfully increased civilian control over the armed forces and transferred the national police from military to civilian authority. In 1996, Reina named his own defense minister, breaking the precedent of accepting the nominee of the armed forces leadership.

His administration substantially increased Central Bank net international reserves, reduced inflation to 12.8% a year, restored a better pace of economic growth (about 5% in 1997), and held down spending to achieve a 1.1% non-financial public sector deficit in 1997.

The Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH)'s Carlos Roberto Flores took office 27 January 1998 as Honduras' fifth democratically elected president since free elections were restored in 1981, with a 10% margin over his main opponent, PNH nominee Nora Gúnera de Melgar, widow of former leader Juan Alberto Melgar). Flores inaugurated International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs of reform and modernization of the Honduran government and economy, with emphasis on maintaining the country's fiscal health and improving international competitiveness.

In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, leaving more than 5,000 people dead and 1.5 million displaced. Damages totaled nearly $3 billion. International donors came forward to assist in rebuilding infrastructure, donating US$1400 million in 2000.

21st century

2000s

thumb|The railroad transportation suffered a lot of economic issues and disadvantages during the 2000s, it was not until 2010 passenger trains where reactivated.

In November 2001, the National Party won presidential and parliamentary elections. The PNH gained 61 seats in Congress and the PLH won 55. The PLH candidate Rafael Pineda was defeated by the PNH candidate Ricardo Maduro, who took office in January 2002. Maduro administration emphasized stopping mara growth, especially Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha.

On 27 November 2005, the PLH candidate Manuel Zelaya beat the PNH candidate and current Head of Congress Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, and became the new president on 27 January 2006.

Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the Liberal Party of Honduras won 27 November 2005 presidential elections with less than a 4% margin of victory, the smallest margin ever in Honduran electoral history. Zelaya's campaign theme was "citizen power," and he vowed to increase transparency and combat narcotrafficking while maintaining macroeconomic stability. The Liberal Party won 62 of the 128 congressional seats, just short of an absolute majority.

thumb|After the 2009 coup d'état, the military presence in the streets began to be more common.

In 2009 Zelaya caused controversy with his call to have a constitutional referendum in June to decide about convening a Constitutional National Assembly to formulate a new constitution. The constitution explicitly bars changes to some of its clauses, including the term limit, and the move precipitated a Constitutional Crisis.

An injunction against holding the referendum was issued by the Honduran Supreme Court.

Zelaya rejected the ruling and sacked Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, the head of Honduras's armed forces. Vásquez had refused to help with the referendum because he did not want to violate the law. The sacking was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court as well as by Congress and Vásquez was reinstated. The President then further defied the Supreme Court by pressing ahead with the vote, which the Court had deemed "illegal". The military had confiscated the ballots and polls in a military base in Tegucigalpa. On 27 June, a day before the election, Zelaya followed by a big group of supporters entered the base and ordered, as Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces, for the ballots and polls to be returned to him. Congress saw this as an abuse of power and ordered his capture.

On 28 June 2009, the military removed Zelaya from office and deported him to Costa Rica, a neutral country. Elvin Santos, the vice-president during the start of Zelaya's term, had resigned in order to run for president in the coming elections, and by a presidential line of succession the head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, was appointed president. However, due to the stance taken by the United Nations and the Organization of American States on the use of military force to depose a president, most countries in the region and in the world continued to recognize Zelaya as the President of Honduras and denounced the actions as an assault on democracy.

Honduras continued to be ruled by Micheletti's administration under strong foreign pressure. On 29 November, democratic general elections were held, with former Congressional president and 2005 nominee, Pepe Lobo as victor.

2010s

thumb|City of Comayagüela in the 2010s

Inaugurated on 27 January 2010, Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo Sosa and his administration focused throughout the first year for foreign recognition of presidential legitimacy and Honduras's reinstitution in the OAS.

Honduras became the only country in the world to ban the morning-after pill in 2012.

After the presidential period of Lobo Sosa, Juan Orlando <span dir="ltr" lang="spanish">Hernández</span> defeated Xiomara Castro, wife of ousted former president Manuel Zelaya, in the general elections in 2013. During the first years of his presidency the economic growth helped to improve the infrastructure of the main cities. However, unemployment and social unrest increased during his first term. He opened the possibility of changing the constitution, enraging a considerable part of the population. In 2015, the supreme court of Honduras removed a single-term limit for the country's presidency. President Juan Orlando Hernández was reelected in 2017, winning the election through an alleged electoral fraud that produced constant protests and violence in the streets. In 2019, Juan Orlando Hernández's younger brother Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernández was brought to trial in New York for drug trafficking. He was convicted of all four charges against him, including drug trafficking and lying to authorities.

2020s

thumb|255x255px|[[Xiomara Castro became the first woman to gain a presidential charge in Honduras.]]

In September 2020, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández announced that Honduras will relocate its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Honduras became the third country in the world after the United States and Guatemala to establish embassies to Israel in Jerusalem.

In January 2021, Honduras changed the country's constitution to make it almost impossible to legalize abortion in the future. Before that, Honduras was already one of few countries with a complete ban on abortion. The constitutional reform was supported by Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández's ruling National Party.

On 28 November 2021, the former first lady Xiomara Castro, leftist presidential candidate of opposition Liberty and Refoundation Party, won 53% of the votes in the presidential election to become the first female president of Honduras. On 27 January 2022, Xiomara Castro was sworn in as Honduras' president. Her husband, Manuel Zelaya, hold the same office from 2006 until 2009.

In April 2022, former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who served two terms between 2014 and January 2022, was extradited to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. Hernandez denied the accusations. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison, but president Donald Trump pardoned him in November 2025, meaning he was freed from the prison. On 27 January 2026, Nasry Asfura of the National Party was sworn in as president of Honduras after winning the 2025 general election.

References

;Attribution