Today’s briefing:
— Could Honduras-gate be real?
— Why France is worried about drunk deer
— How to get free Swiss museum entry
Sponsored by:
Good morning {{first_name | Intriguer}}. Quick heads-up: something yuuuge for Intrigue is landing tomorrow.
We’ve been cooking it for months, and tomorrow we lift the lid. Hope it smells good.
Is it another one of my inappropriate anecdotes? No, but I've got some bangers in the chamber.
Another Intrigue baby? No, but shout-out to our superstar co-founder Helen and her gorgeous new baby girl.
Another NYC cocktail night hosted by the Czech ambassador? No, though that's actually a good idea — Jakub, call us 🤙.
So what is it? Well, it's something we've built for the sharp operators, the keen observers, the true believers reading Intrigue every day (or just, you know, whenever you can). It's something we've built for you (and okay, for us too).
We’ll reveal it all tomorrow.
In the meantime, we bring you an update on the wildest headline you’ve never seen (unless you speak Spanish).
Number of the day
32
That’s how many times Kami Rita Sherpa, a Nepalese mountain guide known as ‘Everest Man’, has now climbed the world’s highest peak, breaking his own previous record.
New gate just dropped
Hernández (Honduras), Milei (Argentina), Netanyahu (Israel), Trump
We were probably overdue for a new 'gate' — we had Watergate, Pizzagate, Gamergate, Bill Gate(s).
So it's time we briefed you on a new gate absolutely dominating headlines in Latin America, though mostly flying under the radar everywhere else.
Ladies and gentlemen? We present... Honduras-gate:
In late April, a mysterious 'HondurasGate.ch' site appeared online — that Swiss (.ch) domain is common for leakers wanting (or being seen to want) stronger data protections.
The group, claiming to be anonymous Honduran journalists, started dropping 37 leaked audios from January to April this year, allegedly featuring names like...
Juan Orlando Hernández, the conservative ex-president of Honduras jailed on US drug trafficking charges then pardoned by Trump 2.0 in December. And…
Nasry Asfura, the conservative new Honduran president endorsed by Trump 2.0.
The purported leaks feature Hernández allegedly (he denies it) saying things like...
“The prime minister of Israel is going to support us… They had everything to do with my release", and
“We’re going to set up a cell from the United States… files are coming against Mexico, against Colombia”
The alleged plot in a nutshell? (“ahhh what am I doing inside this nutshell”): the conservative governments of the US, Israel, Honduras, and Argentina are supposedly cooking up a transnational media op to smear leftist leaders across Latin America.
And two of the alleged targets have now weighed in, with Mexico’s Sheinbaum shrugging it off, while Colombia’s Petro tweeted, “this is how the far-right communication networks move. The money comes from cocaine and from Israel.” He’s warning it’s all an attempt to meddle in Colombia’s elections later this month.
As for that Israel cameo? Israel is (ahem) hardly a stranger to wild theories, but this specific cameo alleges the Israeli PM had helped Hernández secure December’s shock Trump pardon as a way to say thanks for moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem.
So... is any of this for real?
Believers argue Hernández is undeniably dodgy, and this feels like a Trump 2.0-era reboot of the Operation Condor right-wing playbook: the 1975-80s cross-border ideological alignment to crush leftist movements during the Cold War.
Critics point to a) the long Honduran history of dubious audio bombshells against rivals; b) the fact these leakers partnered with Spain's 'Canal Red' outlet (which describes itself as "militant in left-wing values"); plus c) the lack of any independent deepfake forensics, to argue it's a leftist plot to discredit the right.
Then there’s a third camp warning it could be less left vs right, and more (say) a ploy by a hostile intelligence service (Moscow?) to discredit and distract the US across Latin America. Beijing would also theoretically have an interest in ousting the Honduran conservatives before they switch recognition back to Taiwan.
Oh, and then the media coverage itself tells a whole other story — is the English-language / conservative press ignoring this story because it's so flimsy and seems like a hit-job by Pablo Iglesias? (Spain’s leftist ex-deputy PM who founded Canal Red)
Or are they ignoring this story because they're suppressing the truth...? Either way, that media split itself is now just part of the intrigue.
Intrigue’s Take
One reason this whole story has gotten any traction at all is because Honduras does legit have such an intriguing history. Our very own Jeremy has spent a lot of time there (long story), and just to paint you a picture of this beautiful if complex place, he recalls…
Being ushered out of a remote Yoro village before the evening curfew — not a government curfew, but one imposed by organised crime so cartels could use the town’s main street as a landing strip to refuel drug flights
Driving up the long, winding compound to the US ambassador’s fortified residence, looming high above Tegucigalpa (infamous for its airport landing btw)
The US-built Soto Cano airbase just out of town, still hosting the same JTF-Bravo forward operating base that famously ran Cold War ops across the region, and…
The Honduran congress even banning passengers on motorbikes after a spate of moto-drive-by assassinations (including on a journalist and anti-corruption figure).
Throw in a modern coup, a hyper-polarised political landscape, and meddling foreign powers, and maybe the only surprise here is it took Honduras-gate this long to happen.
Still, it feels too cartoonishly convenient to be what its anonymous authors claim. And yet even if it’s a full or partial farce, it’s still a revealing one, hinting at this region’s risks of elite capture, right-left proxy wars, plus authoritarian narratives and counter-narratives, all now accelerated by AI tech that’ll only make the forensics trickier.
Anyway, if your narco-ex-president needs rabbis, Milei money, and a US apartment to run a regional troll farm, you might be doing influence ops wrong?
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Meanwhile, elsewhere…
🇮🇷 IRAN — The latest.
With his China trip in the rear-view, President Trump has pivoted back to Iran, insisting the “clock is ticking” for the regime to do a deal. Meanwhile, the UAE has blamed Iran or its proxies for a strike near an Abu Dhabi nuclear plant. (Bloomberg $)
Comment: While Trump is trying to portray urgency, Iran’s regime is still playing for time, and seems to be using proxies to poke Gulf targets without triggering full US re-entry. Meanwhile, parallel Iran-Oman talks on Hormuz look a lot like the regime flexing its leverage to keep world oil markets nervous, and maintain pressure on Trump.
🇧🇬 BULGARIA — First Eurovision win.
Prime Minister Radev has hailed popstar Dara’s “victory with global resonance” after she won Eurovision 2026 in Vienna over the weekend with her dance track Bangaranga. Bulgaria now gets hosting rights for 2027. (DW)
Comment: It’s a much-needed feel-good moment for the EU and NATO member, exhausted by years of political instability. It’s also helpful timing for Radev, giving him a unifying, euro-friendly moment weeks after his electoral win rattled the continent over his semi-eurosceptic past.
🇰🇵 NORTH KOREA — Athletes take a trip south.
Members of a North Korean women’s football club have travelled to the democratic South for a match, the first North-South sporting visit in eight years. (CNN)
Comment: It’s just a club (not the national team), offering the North’s Kim a low-risk way to project a peaceful image without any real concessions. True to form, the South’s Unification Ministry has organised a cheering squad to celebrate both teams!
🇷🇺 RUSSIA — War hits home.
Russian authorities are reporting four dead after Ukraine’s largest-ever aerial counter-attack used ~500 drones to hit targets across 14 Russian regions, including Moscow. Ukraine’s Zelensky had warned of retaliation after Russia’s deadly missile strike on an apartment building left 24 dead last week. (Guardian)
Comment: As Ukraine counter-punches deeper into the Russian heartland, it further damages Putin’s narrative of total control, not to mention his ability to protect Russia’s urban elites from the war he started. Meanwhile, Monocrystal JSC (his largest manufacturer of synthetic sapphires for missiles and drones) just declared bankruptcy.
🇮🇳 INDIA — Chip fabs incoming.
India’s Tata Electronics and Dutch lithography giant ASML have used PM Modi’s European tour to sign an $11B landmark deal to build India’s first 300mm semiconductor plant (enabling modern, high-volume production). (Al Jazeera)
Comment: It’s a win for Modi, not just because he wants to cut India’s heavy dependence on imported chips, but because the two firms are building this new plant in his home state of Gujarat.
🇹🇼 TAIWAN — Not for sale.
President Lai has declared “Taiwan will never be sacrificed or traded”, in a blunt response to President Trump describing a mooted $14B US arms package as a potential bargaining chip with China. (Lai’s FB post 🇹🇼)
Comment: Lai is signalling to three different audiences: reassuring his own people; warning Beijing that Taipei won’t fold; and reminding DC that US arms aren’t a favour, but a legal obligation (Taiwan Relations Act) to preserve the fragile status quo.
🇨🇩 DR CONGO — Ebola outbreak.
The World Health Organisation has labelled an Ebola outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda a public health emergency “of international concern”. (WHO)
Comment: This is more an effort to help mobilise an international response rather than any warning of an imminent Covid 2.0. DR Congo is already struggling with various insurgencies, and just launched a new US and UAE-backed paramilitary to secure the country’s vast critical mineral sites.
Extra Intrigue
🤣 Your weekly roundup of the world’s lighter news
New York City just mailed a speeding ticket to the iconic 80s Knight Rider car… that’s been sitting (stationary) in its Illinois museum display since the 80s.
An Aussie man has accidentally ended up on an Australian Fashion Week runway while trying to go for a beach swim.
An Italian town has gone viral over its huge free-range peacock population.
French cops have warned rural drivers about drunk deer from fermented fruit.
And a US court has told an Omaha bar to change its ‘Barber Shop Blackstone’ name because the bar does not have a barber’s license.
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Exhibition of the day
Credits: Foundation Beyeler via Instagram.
One of the most common critiques levelled at museums is that they’re old-fashioned and boring. Well, the folks over at Switzerland’s Fondation Beyeler art museum heard that and said ‘hold our champagne flutes’.
To mark the museum’s new Cézanne exhibition, featuring the French Post-impressionist’s ‘Bathers’ series, the Foundation just offered free entry to anyone in their swimsuit — for one day only.
It’s the brainchild of Italy’s Maurizio Cattelan, of banana-stuck-to-a-wall fame. Because nothing says “serious art appreciation” like wandering past Cézanne in your Speedos.
Thursday’s poll
What do you think is the most-likely explanation for Honduras-gate?
Yesterday’s poll: How do you think this feud in the Philippines will end?
⛔ Sara Duterte gets barred from running in 2028 (37%)
✊ Sara Duterte wins power in 2028 (18%)
🤼 Some sort of crisis (43%)
✍️ Other (write in!) (2%)
Your two cents:
🤼 S.S: “When passion trumps rational thinking, crisis wins.”