TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A wave of violence has gripped the Honduran coast following two separates, coordinated gun attacks on Thursday, May 21, 2026, which left at least 25 people dead. The incidents, which authorities have blamed on organized crime, targeted both plantation workers and law enforcement officers.

The first and deadliest of the two attacks occurred at a plantation in the municipality of Trujillo, located in the northern, resource-rich region of Honduras. According to Yuri Mora, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor's Office, at least 19 workers were shot and killed during the incident.

The Trujillo region has long been the site of intense agrarian conflict. Environmental and land rights activists in the area have frequently faced threats, surveillance, and intimidation, with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights having previously issued precautionary measures to protect some of these individuals.

In a separate incident, assailants opened fire on a group of police officers in the municipality of Omoa, in the Cortés department near the Guatemalan border. Six officers, including a senior official, were killed in the ambush. The victims were part of an anti-gang mission and were traveling from the capital, Tegucigalpa, at the time of the attack.

National Police spokesperson Edgardo Barahona reported that determining the precise death toll in Trujillo was initially complicated by relatives removing the bodies of their loved ones from the scene. Investigators, forensic specialists, and prosecutors have been deployed to both attack sites to begin a thorough investigation.

While Honduras has seen a significant decrease in its homicide rate since its 2011 peak, the nation continues to struggle with high rates of crime linked to gang activity and the transnational drug trade. The government has pledged that both the National Police and armed forces will respond to the areas impacted by these latest attacks.