Trujillo has received plenty of attention as the potential site of a proposed Honduran charter city project,[3] according to an idea originally advocated by American economist Paul Romer.

Often referred to as a Hong Kong in Honduras, and advocated by among others the Trujillo-born Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa, the project has also been met with skepticism and controversy,[4] especially due to its supposed disregard for the local Garifuna culture.

When Olid began using the town as his base for establishing his own realm in Central America, Cortés sent Francisco de las Casas to remove him.

The fortress, Fortaleza de Santa Bárbara (El Castillo), which sits on the bluff overlooking the bay, was built by the Spanish around 1550.

Nevertheless, it was inadequate to really defend Trujillo from pirates—the largest gathering of pirates in history took place in the vicinity in 1683—or rival colonial powers: the Dutch, French, and English.

The Honduran Army and local volunteers presented a firm defense and with intervention of the Royal Navy, was captured and executed in Trujillo by orders of President Jose Santos Guardiola.

He later wrote a number of short stories that took place in "Coralio" in the fictional Central American country of "Anchuria", based on the real town of Trujillo.