A targeted terrorist attack near the National Congress building in Tegucigalpa has left Gladys Aurora López, the Vice President of the National Congress of Honduras, seriously injured. The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon amid a tense political climate, just as López was stopping to speak with reporters outside the legislative complex.
According to eyewitnesses and security camera footage, an unidentified assailant hurled an improvised explosive device directly at the congresswoman. The bomb detonated on impact, striking López in the head and throwing her to the ground. Medical reports indicate she sustained “serious injuries,” including multiple fractures to her skull and limbs, as well as shrapnel wounds and burns to her back. She was rushed to a military hospital where she remains in critical but stable condition.
“This was a cowardly attempt on the life of a democratically elected official,” stated a spokesperson for the National Party, who immediately blamed the attack on radical elements of the opposition LIBRE party. “The violence we are seeing is a direct result of the inflammatory rhetoric used by those who refuse to accept the recent election results.”
The attack comes during a period of extreme volatility in Honduras following the disputed presidential election of November 30. The results, which declared National Party candidate Nasri Asfura the winner over centrist Salvador Nasralla, have been contested by opposition groups, sparking weeks of unrest.
Security forces have cordoned off the National Congress and launched a manhunt for the attacker. No group has yet claimed official responsibility, but the government has labeled the incident an act of “domestic terrorism” intended to destabilize the transition of power scheduled for later this month.
