Sponsors (7)
Introduced June 26, 2025 by Maria Elvira Salazar · Last progress June 26, 2025
The bill increases U.S. support for free, transparent Honduran elections through monitoring, targeted sanctions, diaspora voting help, and modest funding — trading modest federal spending and diplomatic effort for the chance to strengthen democracy, while risking bilateral friction, perceptions of interference, and limited effectiveness if Honduras does not cooperate.
Honduran voters (in Honduras and the diaspora) are more likely to experience a free, competitive, and transparent Nov 30, 2025 election because the bill funds and enables international/civil-society monitoring, promotes transparent result transmission, and supports consular voting assistance.
The bill creates stronger protections and oversight that reduce the risk of politically motivated harassment and human-rights abuses of candidates and civic actors.
U.S. ability to impose targeted visa restrictions on individuals who interfere with the electoral process provides a focused deterrent option while allowing controlled waivers with congressional notification to preserve diplomatic flexibility.
U.S. statements, observer funding, and sanctions risk straining relations with Honduras and complicating cooperation on migration, security, and other bilateral priorities.
Funding observers and public U.S. involvement can be perceived as foreign interference, provoking domestic backlash in Honduras that could undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of the measures.
Targeted visa bans will disrupt travel for designated individuals (work, family, diplomacy), carry risks of mistaken or overbroad designations, and their deterrent effect can be diluted if waiver authority is overused.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Directs the State Department to support and fund monitoring of Honduras's Nov 30, 2025 elections, enables visa bans for those who block or intimidate candidates, and authorizes $1M/year.
Requires the State Department to develop and carry out a plan to promote free and fair elections in Honduras for the November 30, 2025 general election, including support for international and civil-society election monitoring and measures to protect candidates, voters, and election integrity. Authorizes grant funding for NGOs to monitor and assess the elections, directs visa- and entry-related sanctions on foreign persons who block or intimidate candidates or election participants, encourages facilitation of voting by Honduran citizens residing in the United States, urges multilateral coordination with other countries, and authorizes $1,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to carry out these activities.